Svein Erik Brodal

Svein Erik Brodal (born 1939 in Østre Toten) is an actortheatre instructor, theatre manager and writer. Brodal made his debut at The Norwegian Theatre in 1960, and was employed at the theatre as an actor from 1962 to 2009 and as its artistic director in the periods 1975-76 and 1979-90. In his time as director his emphasis was, in particular, on new Norwegian drama and large-scale international musical successes such as Cats (1985) and Les Misérables (1988).

At The Norwegian Theatre he established the experimental venue Bikuben (literally: The Beehive) in The Norwegian Theatre in collaboration with Gudrun Waadeland in 1967. Bikuben was independently led and later split from The Norwegian Theatre to be managed as an independent arts company (Bikuben Musikkteater). Brodal also was a central force behind the project Toten Teater in his home area.

Information

(Objekt ID 8205)
Object type Person
Born February 21, 1939
Functions Author, Instructor, Actor, Literary critic, Theatre critic, Theatre director
Nationality Norwegian
Gender Male
Adresse Oslo, Norway
Website det norske teatret, allkunne, STORE NORSKE LEKSIKON
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Timeline  

  • 1961 – 62: Norwegian Broadcasting's drama division: Played Harald in The Great Baptism by Oskar Bråten.
  • 1962: The Norwegian Theatre: Title roles as Hamlet and Brand, Paulus Hove in The Teacher by Arne Garborg, the priest in Mother Courage by Bertolt Brecht.
  • 1967: Instructor.
  • 1970 - 75 and 1976 - 79: Artistic counsellor.
  • 1975 - 76 and 1979 - 90: Artistic director of The Norwegian Theatre. Emphasised Norwegian and newer international drama.
  • 1987: Started a drama workshop. Emperor and Galilean by Henrik Ibsen was for the first time staged in its entirety. Also emphasised musicals: Cats, Les Misérables, Piaf and others. Many tours.
  • 1967 – 70: Led the theatre centre Bikuben with Gudrun Waadeland.
  • 1972: Read a recording of The Night Carpenter Anderson bumped into Santa Claus by Alf Prøysen (sent as a TV reading every Christmas Eve by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation).
  • 1974: Made his debut as a writer. Several poetry collections and biographies, about Tordis Maurstad among others.
  • From 1990: Ran Henrik Ibsens Salong (salon theatre) with Gudrun Waadeland.
  • Made a church play of his own, Je og Gud (literally: I and God, using the Toten dialect word for I), performed in churches all over Norway with Gudrun Waadeland.
  • Central force behind Toten Teater.
  • In 2011 he acted the role of Toralf Lycke in the TV series Hotel Cæsar; the father of Arnfinn Lycke, played by Nils Vogt.

Literary works

  • Prolog midt i livet (literally: Prologue in the middle of life). Poetry, 1974
  • Til saman. Meir enn kjærleik (literally: All in all. More than love), 1976
  • Spegling (literally: Reflection, the way one sees it in a mirror). Poetry, 1978
  • Syn på teater. Teaternotat 1969–1979 (literally: View on theatre, theatre memo 1969-1979) , 1979
  • Hår får vara for hår for er (literally: Each should be what each one is). Short prose from Toten, 1981
  • Tordis Maurstad. Komedienne, erotisk karakterskildrar, klassikar (literally: Tordis Maurstad. Comedienne, erotic character describer, classic), 1981
  • Høre heme enstann/Ælle menneskja mine/Je og Gud (literally: Belonging someplace/All my people/I and God). Three plays, 1992

Awards

  • 1988: The cultural award of the municipality of Østre Toten.
  • 1989: The award Austmannaprisen.
  • 1990: The award Brobyggerprisen.
  • August 30 2009: Named honourable member of The Norwegian Actors' Equity Association/NAEA.

Svein Erik Brodal's farewell performance Kva er ein skodespelar?* (What is an actor?) took place at The Norwegian Theatre in May 2012. It was directed by Carl Morten Amundsen and used texts by Brodal himself, Aeschylus, Molière, Shakespeare, Prøysen. Brecht, Diderot, Stanislavski, Jonsson and Chekhov, among others.

Sources: 

Wikipedia, no.wikipedia.org, 03.11.2010, http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svein_Erik_Brodal

The Norwegian Theatre, detnorsketeatret.no, 03.11.2010, http://www.detnorsketeatret.no/ActorDetails/tabid/134/EmployeeID/60/Default.aspx

*Not yet translated into English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

Education

Cand.mag (four year study) in theatre theory, history of art and history of ideas

1958-1961: The National Academy of Theatre, Oslo

Affiliations (4)
Artworks (3)
Title Publiseringsdato Role
D´ække tel å tru! 1993, Script, Monologue – Author
Ælle menneskja mine 1988, Script, Monologue – Author
Dæ tæk tid å vara totning 2002, Script, Monologue – Author