Title (22) File type Publiseringsdato Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Nationaltheatrets produksjoner Protest (1980) og Attest (1980) pdf October 8, 1980 Download
Anmeldelse av Erik Pierstorff i Dagbladet av Sampo Teaters produksjon "Kalevala" (1984) pdf May 11, 1984 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Nationaltheatrets produksjon Solens barn (1979) pdf October 19, 1979 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Den Nationale Scenes produksjon John Gabriel Borkman (1980) - Festspillene i Bergen 1981 pdf May 22, 1981 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Erik Pierstorff av Elsa Kvammes produksjon Dame uten jobb (1984) pdf May 2, 1984 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Erik Pierstorff av Musidra Teaters produksjoner Hjemmebarn og Fremmedbarn (1979) pdf June 9, 1979 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Nationaltheatrets produksjon Don Carlos (1980) pdf March 21, 1980 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Nationaltheatrets produksjon John Gabriel Borkman (1979) pdf February 5, 1979 Download
Anmeldelse i Dagbladet av Perleporten Teatergruppes produksjon "Det siste skrik" (1983) pdf April 9, 1983 Download
Dagbladet's review of Perleporten Teatergruppe's production The last cry (1983) pdf 1983 Download
Forhåndsomtale av Erik Pierstorff i Dagbladet av Sampo Teaters produksjon "Kalevala" (1984) pdf 1984 Download
Interview in Dagbladet with Anitta Suikkari (1983) pdf April 7, 1983 Download
Interview in Dagbladet with Augustin Gomez-Arcos (1983) pdf March 5, 1983 Download
Intervju i Dagbladet av Erik Piersdorff med Camilla Tostrup (1982) pdf May 10, 1982 Download
Master thesis in theatre theory: Det nye regiteatret i ljos av samspelet mellom norsk og tysk tradisjon AKA The new director's theatre in light of Norwegian and German tradition pdf 2012 Download
Opinion piece in Dagbladet by Erik Pierstorff about Bjørneboe-aksjonen (The Bjørneboe campaign) pdf March 15, 1977 Download
Preview article about Familien Swane's production Den dagen da håret brakk* (The day the hair broke) (1984) pdf December 22, 1983 Download
Review in Dagbladet of Perleporten Teatergruppe's production Fra himmelen regnet det gull (From the sky, gold was raining, 1979) pdf Navember 24, 1979 Download
Review in Dagbladet of Perleporten Teatergruppe's production Jug meg en saga* (Lie a saga for me, 1976) pdf 1977 Download
Review in Dagbladet of Perleporten Teatergruppe's production Klassebilde* (Yearbook Photo, 1978) pdf February 3, 1978 Download
Review in Dagbladet of Perleporten Teatergruppe's production Klassebilde* (Yearbook Photo, 1978) pdf April 1, 1978 Download
Review in Dagbladet, of Perleporten Teatergruppe's production Se hva jeg tør* (See what I dare, 1981) pdf June 7, 1982 Download

Erik Pierstorff

Erik «Pi» Pierstorff (born February 15 1926 in Oslo, dead September 18 1984 in Lillehammer) was a Norwegian linguist, journalist, critic and theatre worker.

After finishing upper secondary school in 1944 Erik Pierstorff studied literature at Colgate University 1945-47 and worked for Associated Press in 1949-50. After studying at Sorbonne in 1951-52, in Sweden in 1953-54 and completing a mag.art. degree at The University of Oslo 1957, he worked as a journalist in Morgenbladet in 1959–63 and then spent two years as a freelancer, writing for several newspapers. During these two years Pierstorff also produced eight short films about the history and aesthetics of ballet and modern dance for the Swedish broadcasting corporation Sveriges Radio och Television.

Information

(Objekt ID 21227)
Object type Person
Born February 15, 1926 (dead September 18, 1984)
Functions Critic, Journalist, Literary critic, Theatre critic, Theatre director
Nationality Norwegian
Gender Male
Website STORE NORSKE LEKSIKON
More

In 1966 Erik Pierstorff was hired as the artistic director and CEO of Trøndelag Theatre. At the time he was the youngest person to lead a Norwegian theatre. He was also among the most creative theatre leaders; he emphasised the young talents, he was of the opinion that the theatre was to put issues on the political agenda, put a high priority on bringing theatre out to the people, found that theatre was to be available to anyone, regardless of social status and established the theatre's secondary venue Teaterloftet, open for avant-garde experiments. Pierstorff decided to resign from his position as artistic director/CEO in 1970.

Pierstorff worked as a dramaturge at The National Theatre of Norway 1970-75.

After several years of practical theatre work he returned to being a theatre critic. At snl.no Thoralf Berg writes the following about Pierstorff’s nine years in Dagbladet:

"As Dagbladet's theatre critic for nine years he made his mark as a strongly personal and uncompromised theatre critic with a rare degree of integrity. He wrote utterly subjective reviews. These were based on a confident gut feeling for good and bad theatre plus his thorough theoretical and practical insight in the profession of theatre. For Pierstorff theatre criticism was an issue of honesty towards the profession, the theatre and the readers. Thus he was also without mercy when he reprimanded productions he found were not up to the mark, and he expressed his boundless delight for productions succeeding. With innovative phrasing, great joy in conveying and eagerness he forced all those interested in theatre to take a stand towards what he wrote. Often Pierstorff was controversial, and sometimes it stormed around him."

The last part of his life he was the leader of the Norwegian theatre critics' union (this was prior to the establishment of Norwegian Critics' Association, but the Norwegian theatre critics were gathered in a similar association).

Pierstorff died from brain haemorrhage in 1984.

Published texts: 

  • T. S. Eliot and the Dilemma of the Modern Theatre, Being Some Notes on Theatre as Creative Imagination (The University of Oslo, 1957). Thesis.
  • I min fars hus (literally: In the house of my father) (1962). Essay in collaboration with Øyvind Foss.
  • Teater på spill (Literally: Theatre at stake) (1971). About theatre politics.
  • Når det kommer til stykket (A Norwegian idiom, a wordplay on theatre. The content is parallel to the English When all comes to all, whereas the literal meaning is When it comes to the piece/play). With Kjetil Bang-Hansen and Örjan Wiklund, about a production of An Enemy of the People.

Sources:

Store Norske Leksikon, snl.no, 13.02.2012, http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/Erik_Pierstorff/utdypning

Wikipedia, no.wikipedia.org, 13.02.2012, http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Pierstorff

Education

1957: Mag.art.degree in literature at The University of Oslo, Norway (thesis on T. S. Eliot and the dilemma of modern theatre).

1953–1954: Studied theatre theory in Stockholm, Sweden.

1951-1952: Studied English literature at Sorbonne, Paris, France.

1945-1947: Studied American literature at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA.

1944: Upper secondary school.

Affiliations (1)
Involved in productions (16)
Title Premiere Role
Hvem er Ernest (Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre)) August 31, 2023 Translation
The Importance of Being Earnest (The National Theatre) Navember 30, 2002 Translation
Hvem er Ernest? (The National Stage) February 10, 2001 Translation
The Importance of Being Earnest (Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre)) Navember 29, 1990 Translation
Hvem er Ernest? (Rogaland Theatre) Navember 14, 1986 Translation
Ibsen om Ibsen (Teater Vestland) April 11, 1978 Script
Ibsen om Ibsen. - Portrett av dikteren som en dansende bjørn. (The National Stage) May 22, 1975 Direction, Script
Svingen (Rogaland Theatre) October 30, 1974 Translation
Havet (The National Stage) October 4, 1974 Director’s assistant
Hvem er Ernest? (The National Theatre) July 7, 1972 Translation
Hjemmet (Trøndelag Theatre) October 11, 1968 Translation
Kanskje en revy (Trøndelag Theatre) September 28, 1968 Choreography
Boy Friend (Trøndelag Theatre) May 12, 1967 Editor
Svingen (The National Theatre) January 25, 1964 Translation
Leketøy på loftet (The National Theatre) May 3, 1961 Translation
Månerenen (NRK The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet) Other