The Hedda Award 2005

Sebastian Hartmann for John Gabriel Borkman by Henrik Ibsen, The National Theatre's main stage:

"Sebastian Hartmann was educated at the theatre college Hans Otto in Leipzig. To begin with he worked as an actor for theatre and TV, but during the 1990es he won greater acclaim as a director.

His production of Sarah Kane's Blasted for Schaubühne Lindenfels in Leipzig got a lot of attention and also became controversial. In 1999 Frank Castorf hired him as a resident director for Volksbühne in Berlin, and here the plays he staged include Christa Wolf's Divided Heaven and Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, the latter of which visited The Ibsen Festival in 2000.

He is now the resident director of Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, but also stages productions for other European venues. In Hamburg he has made his mark with his interpretations of Schiller's The Robbers and The Fire Raisers by Max Frisch. He also visits The Contemporary Stage Festival this year with Offending the Audience by Peter Handke, staged in Hamburg last year."

Alexander Mørk-Eidem for Terrorism by the Presnyakov brothers, The National Theatre's Amfiscene (the Amphi stage):

"Ever since he in 1998 graduated from the directors' study at The National Academy of Theatre, Alexander Mørk-Eidem has been among the most profiled and interesting young Norwegian directors - and one of the most used. At home he has staged productions for Rogaland Theatre and Trøndelag Theatre, The Norwegian Theatre and The National Theatre.

He has staged Shakespeare and Jon Fosse, Tennessee Williams and Chekhov, but also Astrid Lindgren and Thorbjørn Egner. He has also had great assignments at The Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen and Stockholm City Theatre, the latter of which he is now connected to. At the theatre he had great success in 2004 with The Idiot, and this spring with Summer Guests after Maxim Gorky.

He won The Hedda Award in the best direction category in 2000 for Not about Nightingales by Tennessee Williams at The Norwegian Theatre. Last year he was nominated for Hedda for The Seagull, which he staged for The Norwegian Theatre, and his production of Mikhail Bulgakov's Flight at The Royal Danish Theatre was last year selected as the production of the year in Denmark."

Tyra Tønnesen for The Slope by Carl Frode Tiller, The Norwegian Theatre, Hålogaland Theatre and Nomade Produksjoner:

"Tyra Tønnessen was educated as a director at The National Academy of Theatre, graduating in 2000. She also has a cand. mag degree from the universities of Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsø with the subjects of literature, history and drama, movie and theatre. While studying in Tromsø she started working for Hålogaland Theatre, and prior to her education as a director she had been a stage manager, a prompter, prop master, stage technician, director's assistant and actress - a role in Ronia, the Robber's Daughter.

In other words, her theatre background is very solid and diverse. After The National Academy of Theatre she had great success at Trøndelag Theatre with Mother Courage, also nominated for The Hedda Award. At Trøndelag Theatre she also staged Banrøv (the title is a dialect expression for a rookie, literally meaning Child's ass) by Anita Haarberg. She has directed for The National Theatre - Schiller's Mary Stuart - and for The Norwegian Theatre, Duck Hunting by Aleksandr Vampilov. At Hålogaland Theatre she staged Strindberg's The Dance of Death, nominated for The Hedda Award in the production of the year category in 2003. In 2003 and 2004 she had - as the first woman - the responsibility for the most national of all our outdoors spectacles, The Saint Olav Drama in Stiklestad."

Christine Lohre for the stage design for Aladdin and the Magical Lamp, Oslo Nye Teaters Dukketeater (the puppetry department of Oslo New Theatre):

"She was educated as a stage designer at Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts (SADA). She has worked as a stage designer in Sweden and Norway, and has had assignments for The Norwegian Theatre, The National Stage in Bergen, Rogaland Theatre, The Norwegian Touring Theatre and Agder Theatre, among others.

For Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre) she has made the stage design for the puppetry production Aladdin and the Magical Lamp (2004) and for Life Machine by Lene Therese Teigen, with its world wide premiere at Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre), Centralteatret the spring of 2005. She has worked a lot with Norwegian contemporary drama and has received the three-year national working grant."

Ingrid Tønder for the lighting design for Frank and The Slope, The Norwegian Theatre:

"She was born in 1972, and is educated as a lighting designer at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Since then she has had assignments for most of the major theatres in the country. For the time being she works with Det folk vil ha. Revy med dansband og dictator* (What People Want. A revue with a dance orchestra and a dictator), by and with Are Kalvø at The Norwegian Theatre.

The autumn of 2001 she was responsible for the lighting design for Trøndelag Theatre's Mother Courage, also nominated for The Hedda Award, and the spring of 2002 she was responsible for the lighting as well as the stage design and costumes of Banrøv (the title is a dialect expression for a rookie, literally meaning Child's ass). She has also been responsible for the lighting design of productions such as West Side Story at The Norwegian Touring Theatre, The Master Builder, a collaboration project between The Norwegian Touring Theatre and The National Theatre, and Mary Stuart at The National Theatre."

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

Christian Friedländer for the stage design for The Pretenders (production co-produced by the Nordic national theatres):

"Christian Friedländer, born 1967, was educated at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design. He is a recognised, much used stage designer in Denmark, and has had the visual responsibility for productions at a number of theatres: Jeff Koons at Betty Nansen (2001), Blasted at Café Teatret (2001), Lucia di Lammermoor at Folkoperan (2002), Othello at Østre Gasværk in 2000, just to mention a few.

At The Royal Danish Theatre he has signed the stage design for productions including Nero (1998), Sir Bengt's Wife (2000), Dirty Hands (2001), The Wind in the Willows (2002), Uncle Vanya (2002) and the opera Under himlen* (Under the Sky). He made the stage design for Flight, selected as the production of the year in 2004, and collaborated with director Alexander Mørk-Eidem in both Flight and The Pretenders."

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

Kristian Fr. Figenschow for the role of Puntila in Puntila, Hålogaland Theatre:

"Kristian Fr. Figenschow was born in 1962. He has no formal theatre education, and describes himself as autodidact. But before he came to Hålogaland Theatre in 1989 he was very active in the revue community of Tromsø, and he had also taken part in the Norwegian fiction film Piratene* (The Pirates). More movies have added to that, as Kristian Fr. Figenschow has played in Vagabonds as well as Insomnia, and he took part in Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's series Offshore.

At Hålogaland Theatre he had great success in Arthur Arntzen's Den fordømte nordlendingen* (The Damned Northerner), but he has also interpreted a number of the classic male roles: Hjalmar Ekdal in The Wild Duck, Vershinin in Three Sisters and Borkin in Ivanov. At Nordland Theatre he has been Holberg's Jeppe, and with Ketil Høegh he had great success with the Northern Norwegian version of Stones in His Pockets."

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

Ingrid Bergstrøm for the role of An-Magritt in Johan Falkberget's An-Magritt at Hovedscenen (the main stage), Trøndelag Theatre:

"Ingrid Bergstrøm was born in 1974, and she started her theatre education by studying at the non-degree granting college of Solbakken, the revue study. Next she took a three-year Accredited Musical Theatre Course at the recognised British Guildford School of Acting. In 1997 she returned to Norway and freelanced for Haugesund Theatre, Hedmark Theatre, The Norwegian Touring Theatre and The National Stage. At Hedmark Theatre she won particular acclaim for the role of Agnes in Agnes of God by John Pielmeier, and in this period of time she interpreted a number of classical female characters at The National Stage, Cordelia in King Lear, Cecily in The Importance of being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Eleonora in Strindberg's Easter. In 2001 she came to Trøndelag Theatre, where she now has steady employment. Here she has taken parts in Jesper Halle's 24 Unsuccessful Norwegians, in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream she played Hermia, and Gunhild in last year's Hedda winner, Purpur og gull* (Purple and Gold), among other things."

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

Nina Ellen Ødegård for the role of Josie in Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill at Intimscenen (the intimate stage), Rogaland Theatre:

"Nina Ellen Ødegård was born in 1979, and had already had a long career at The Children and Youth Theatre at Rogaland Theatre when she was accepted at The National Academy of Theatre.

She began working for Rogaland Theatre after graduating, the autumn of 2002. Her first assignment at the theatre was the role of Chris in Dancing at Lughnasa. In 2003 she played in Rice/Lloyd Webber's Evita and in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. The spring of 2004 she started with playing Jenny in the popular Stavanger comedy Gudlabarnet te na mor* (Mother's Golden Child), and next followed the sister in the world premiere of Jon Fosse's The Dead Dogs.

The autumn of 2004 she made a strong impression with her interpretation of Josie in Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill, the role for which she is also nominated.

After Josie she has been Nicholas' sister Kate in Nicholas Nickleby, whereas she the spring of 2005 played Margarita in The Master and Margarita. In addition Nina Ellen Ødegård has taken part in two movies, Play by John Sullivan, and All for Egil, directed by Tore Rygh."

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

Crime and Punishment at Hålogaland Theatre:

"Hålogaland Theatre impresses with an intense version of Crime and Punishment. And most of all the main character actor, Pål Sverre Hagen, impresses."

Hege I. Hanssen, Nordlys.

"...excellent theatre and at times acting flying sparks. And not least one manages to convey an intensely exciting story, as interesting whether one has read the book or not."

Dag Bergheim, Nettmagasinet Tromsø By

The Master and Margarita at Rogaland Theatre:

"The Master and Margarita has become a burlesque, grotesque and captivating theatre game at Rogaland Theatre. (...) First and foremost (...) a playful and distinct story".

Elisabeth Rygg, Aftenposten

"A daredevil theatre game: visually The Master and Margarita fly sparks and is very well performed."

Hjørdis Smedvig, Stavanger Aftenblad