Icelandic Playwrights Showcase

Featuring live readings and conversations with Icelandic playwrights

The Icelandic Playwrights Showcase brings contemporary Icelandic playwrights to international audiences through events at Icelandic embassies. Each gathering features readings of selected works, conversations with the authors, and an informal reception. In 2025, events will take place in Berlin, Helsinki, and Oslo.

Upcoming Event - Helsinki

Date: 3 November 2025
Time: 17:00–18:40
Venue: Teater Viirus

  • Welcome by the Icelandic Embassy
  • Introduction to the Icelandic Theaters and Playwriting
  • Reading from Home by Hrafnhildur Hagalín (in Finnish)
  • Reading from Room for Love  by Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson (in Finnish)
  • Conversation with the playwrights
  • Reception after the event

Helsinki Reading – Creative Team
The readings in Berlin will be performed by Marjaana Maijala, Anna Airola, Aleksi Holkko and Timo Ruuskanen.

The Finnish translation of the texts by Tapio Koivukari and Marjakaisa Matthíasson.

Meet the Playwrights

Hrafnhildur Hagalín

Hrafnhildur Hagalín is one of Iceland’s most accomplished playwrights. Her career spans over three decades and includes theatre, radio drama, literary work and translations. She studied theatre and French at the Sorbonne in Paris, and her plays—such as I am the Maestro, Easy Now, Electra, and Home—are known for their psychological insight, formal clarity and quiet emotional power. They have been translated into many languages, and I am the Maestro has been produced widely around the world.  Hagalín has received numerous awards, including the Nordic Playwright Award, the Nordic Radio Drama Prize, the DV Cultural Prize and Iceland’s Gríman Performing Arts Award. Her plays are represented by Nordiska ApS in Copenhagen.

Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson

Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson is a leading voice in Icelandic theatre, known for his emotionally charged and socially reflective writing. A graduate of the Iceland University of the Arts, Janáček Academy in Brno, and Goldsmiths, University of London, his recent works—including Seven Fairy Tales of Shame, Luna, and Helgi Comes Apart—have been performed across Europe and North America, and featured in major publications and festivals, including Festival d’Avignon. He has been awarded Iceland’s Gríman Award three times, and his plays have been translated into several languages and published internationally. Tyrfingur is represented by Hinriikka Lindqvist at Nordic Drama Corner.

Works

  • Home (Heim) - 2025
  • Avalanche (Flóð) -  2016
  • Guilty (Sek) - 2013
  • Open House (Opið hús) Radio Play - 2012
  • Loners (Einfarar) Radio Play - 2009
  • North (Norður) - 2004
  • Easy now, Electra (Hægan Elektra) - 2000
  • I am the Maestro (Ég er Meistarinn) - 1990

Works

  • Room for Love (Rými fyrir ást) - 2025
  • Luna (Lúna) - 2024
  • Seven Fairy Tales of Shame (Sjö ævintýri um skömm) - 2022
  • Helgi Comes Apart (Helgi Þór rofnar) - 2020
  • The Potato Eaters (Kartöfluæturnar) - 2017
  • Commercial of the Year (Auglýsing ársins) - 2016
  • Blue Eyes (Bláskjár) - 2014

Listen & Watch

“I consider playwriting a form of exorcism.”

→ [Listen to the 2023 podcast interview]

In collaboration with: