Kjetil Bang-Hansen (born 16 May 1940) is a Norwegian

actor 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 (), li ...

, dancer, stage producer and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Early and personal life

Bang-Hansen was born in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

as the son of writer

Odd Bang-Hansen Odd Bang-Hansen (9 April 1908 – 4 March 1984) was a Norwegian educator, journalist and author. Biography He was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway. His parents were Lauritz Bang-Hansen (1879–1960) and Astri Halvorsen (1880–1971). H ...

and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Inger Johanne Rütter in 1967. He is brother of film producer and film critic

Pål Bang-Hansen Pål Bang-Hansen (29 July 1937 – 25 March 2010) was a Norwegian actor, film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is particularly known as a television personality and film expert at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, leading the te ...

Career

After

examen artium Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1 ...

Bang-Hansen studied at the

Norwegian National Academy of Theatre The Oslo National Academy of the Arts ( no, Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo, ''KHiO'') is a university college in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in N ...

from 1959 to 1962, and later at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

and at theatres in Stockholm and London. He made his debut as actor at the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

Fjernsynsteatret Fjernsynsteatret was a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) which produced plays for television broadcasting. It opened in 1960 (after about a year of experimental operation), and operated until 1990, when a major reorganisati ...

in 1961. He was employed as actor and dancer at the revue stage Edderkoppen from 1962 to 1963, and at

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 ...

from 1963 to 1966. His debut as instructor was an adaptation of

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

's ''Two For The Seesaw'' at

Trøndelag Teater Trøndelag Teater is a large theater in the city of Trondheim, in Trøndelag county, Norway. Trøndelag Teater stages large-scale dance and musical performances. History Originally built in 1816, the theater is the oldest stage in Scandinavia ...

in 1967. Later the same year he also staged adaptations of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's ''

The Dumb Waiter ''The Dumb Waiter'' is a one-act play by Harold Pinter written in 1957. "Small but perfectly formed, ''The Dumb Waiter'' might be considered the best of Harold Pinter's early plays, more consistent than ''The Birthday Party'' and sharper tha ...

'' (''Kjøkkenheisen'') and

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

's ''

La Cantatrice chauve ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at th ...

'' (''Den skallete sangerinnen''). Among his other productions are

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 ''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' (''Gengangere''), ''

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

'' and ''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende''), an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, ''Ghosts'', which criticized the hypocrisy of his society's moral code. That response inclu ...

'' (''En folkefiende)'',

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', and

Cecilie Løveid Cecilie Løveid (born 21 August 1951) is a Norwegian novelist, poet, playwright, and writer of children's books. Personal life Løveid was born in Mysen to ship's captain Erik Løveid and actress Ingrid Cecilie Meyer. She had a cohabiting relatio ...

's ''Maria Q''. Bang-Hansen was part of the group that established the regional theatre for

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

Teatret Vårt Teatret Vårt is a regional theatre for Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was established in 1972 and is based in Molde. The theatre cooperates with the annual Molde International Jazz Festival. Carl Morten Amundsen Carl Morten Amundsen (born ...

, in 1972. At this theatre he produced an adaptation of

's ''

Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...

'' in 1972,

Kaj Munk Kaj Harald Leininger Munk (commonly called Kaj Munk) (13 January 1898 – 4 January 1944) was a Danish playwright and Lutheranism, Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World ...

's ''Ordet'' in 1973, 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 ...

's '' Kongsemnerne'' in 1974. He headed the

from 1973 to 1976, and was theatre director at

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 ...

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

from 1976 to 1982. During his period at Rogaland Teater this theatre became one of the most central theatres in Norway. His adaptation of Ibsen's

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

play ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

'' received much acclaim, and it was also played at the

Belgrade International Theatre Festival The Belgrade International Theatre Festival (abbr. BITEF) is a theatre festival that takes place every September annually in Belgrade, Serbia. History Founded in 1967, BITEF has continually followed and supported the latest theatre trends. It h ...

, giving Bang-Hansen international recognition. At Rogaland Teater he also produced a theatre adaptation of

Lev Tolstoj Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

's story '' The Story of a Horse''. He was theatre director at

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 ...

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

from 1982 to 1986, where one of his most important productions was an adaptation of Sofokles' '' Theban plays''. He was theatre director at the National Theatre in

from 1986 to 1987, when he had to resign due to failed economic success. He was theatre director at

from 1998 to 2001. A selection of his writings on theatre was issued in his book ''Trommer og sang'' (1987). In 1983 he was awarded the

Fritt Ord Award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award ( no, Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt O ...

. He received the Norwegian Critics Prize for Theatre in 1999/2000, and the

Hedda Award The Hedda Award (''Heddaprisen'') is a Norwegian theatre award, first presented in 1998. It is named after the character "Hedda" from Ibsen's play ''Hedda Gabler''. Among its categories, which have varied over the years, are: Best Theatre Producti ...

in 2003. He is a member of the

Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature ( no, Det Norske Akademi for Språk og Litteratur), commonly known as the Norwegian Academy, is a Norwegian learned body on matters pertaining to the modern Norwegian language in its Dano-Norwegian ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bang-Hansen, Kjetil 1940 births Living people Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian theatre directors Members of the Norwegian Academy Norwegian theatre managers and producers Male actors from Oslo Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature winners University of Oslo alumni Oslo National Academy of the Arts alumni Academic staff of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts Theatre people from Oslo