Gerda Ring (11 May 1891 – 12 January 1999) was a Norwegian

stage actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

and stage producer. She was the daughter of writer

Barbra Ring Barbra Mathilde Ring (4 July 1870 – 6 May 1955) was a Norwegian novelist, short story writer, children's writer, biographer, memoirist, literary critic and theatre critic. She made her literary début in 1904 with the girl's novel ''Babbens Da ...

, and married actor and theatre director

Halfdan Christensen Halfdan Christensen (12 December 1873 – 17 September 1950) was a Norwegian stage actor and theatre director. Biography Christensen was born at Porsgrunn in Telemark, Norway. His family moved to Kristiania (now Oslo) where he attended Aars ...

in 1922. They were parents of the actors

Bab Christensen Barbra Karine "Bab" Christensen (8 January 1928 – 10 April 2017) was a Norwegian actress. She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of actors Gerda Ring and Halfdan Christensen and younger sister of actor Pelle Christensen. She made her stage d ...

and

Pelle Christensen Per "Pelle" Christensen (9 March 1923 – 30 July 1995) was a Norwegian actor and translator. He was born in Kristiania as a son of Gerda Ring and Halfdan Christensen and brother of Bab Christensen. He made his stage debut in 1949 at the Nationa ...

Career

Ring had her stage debut at

Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo in 1929, and ended as an independent theatre in 1959, when it merged with Folketeatret to form Oslo Nye Teater. The theatre's original purpose was to support contemporary Norwegian drama. History Th ...

in Copenhagen in 1911, in the play ''Kongens hjerte'', written by Barbra Ring (Gerda's mother). She played at the National Theatre from 1912 to 1961. Among her roles were "Hedvig" in

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is considered the first modern masterpiece in the genre of tragicomedy. ''The Wild Duck'' and ''Rosmersholm'' are "often t ...

'', and "Eleonora" in

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

's ''Easter''. Her first stage production was an adaption of

Gunnar Heiberg Gunnar Edvard Rode Heiberg (18 November 1857 – 22 February 1929) was a Norway, Norwegian poet, playwright, journalist and theatre critic. Personal life He was born in Oslo, Christiania a son of judge Edvard Omsen Heiberg (1829–1884) and his w ...

's play ''Gerts have'' in 1930. Gerts have by Henrik Rom

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Ring played a leading role in the theatre conflict which emerged in 1941, being on the board of the

Norwegian Actors' Equity Association The Norwegian Actors' Equity Association ( no, Norsk Skuespillerforbund) is an association of Norwegian actors. Its main purpose is to improve actors' working conditions and to protect the artistic, judicial and financial interests of actors in N ...

. One of the disagreements was whether the actors were obliged to participate in radio productions. After several actors, including Ring, refused to participate for

Radioteatret Radioteatret is a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produces audio plays for radio broadcasting. It was established in 1927. In January 2021, ''Verdens Gang'' cited a report from NTB, saying that Radioteatret ow isbeing ...

in May 1941, the Gestapo intervened, and the group had their working permissions revoked. This was 21 May, and already the same evening a strike was effective in Oslo, and from the next day also in Bergen and Trondheim. Several theatre leaders were eventually arrested, but the strike lasted until end of June, after long negotiations, which also included German threats of death by court-martial. In 1942 Ring had to flee to Sweden, where she started the theatre group Fri Norsk Scene, together with her husband Halfdan Christensen. After the war Ring staged several productions, including plays by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

. She received the Critics' Prize for her adaptation of Sartre's ''

Dirty Hands ''Dirty Hands'' (french: Les Mains sales) is a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. It was first performed on 2 April 1948 at the Theatre Antoine in Paris, directed by Pierre Valde and starring François Périer, Marie Olivier and André Luguet. A politi ...

'' in 1950. In addition to her work at the National Theatre, she also produced for

, for

Oslo Nye Teater Oslo Nye Teater is a theater located in Oslo, Norway. The theater has its main stage in its own theater house at Rosenkrantz' gate 10. It is one of Norway's most visited theatres. Oslo Nye Teater AS is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality. Histor ...

Riksteatret Riksteatret (English: National Traveling Theater) is a Norwegian touring theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or ima ...

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

and

Rogaland Teater Rogaland Teater is a theatre in Stavanger, Norway. Background The theatre building was built in 1883 on a parcel of '' Kannik prestegård''. It was designed by architect Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff, and initially held close to 500 seats. The bui ...

, and for theatres in Denmark, Iceland and China.

Honours

Ring was awarded the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold in 1951. She was appointed Knight, First Class of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1956, and was also Knight of the Swedish

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

Death

When she died in 1999; she was 107 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Gerda 1891 births 1999 deaths Norwegian stage actresses Norwegian expatriates in Sweden Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Norwegian centenarians Women centenarians