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

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, 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 ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

Inger Johanne Rütter in 1967. He is brother of film producer and film critic Pål Bang-Hansen.

Career

After examen artium Bang-Hansen studied at the

Norwegian National Academy of Theatre The Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, ''KHiO'') is a tertiary institution in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in Norway that teaches in v ...

from 1959 to 1962, and later at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

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

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

's Fjernsynsteatret in 1961. He was employed as actor and dancer at the revue stage Edderkoppen from 1962 to 1963, and at Oslo Nye Teater 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 ear ...

's ''Two For The Seesaw'' at Trøndelag Teater 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 List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's ''

The Dumb Waiter ''The Dumb Waiter'' is a one-act play by Harold Pinter written in 1957. Plot Two Hitman, hit-men, Ben and Gus, are waiting in a basement room for their assignment. As the play begins, Ben, the senior member of the team, is reading a newspaper ...

'' (''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#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

'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 the ...

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

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

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

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

'' and ''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende'') is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that explores the conflict between personal integrity and societal norms. The play centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, w ...

'' (''En folkefiende)'',

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

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

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

, Teatret Vårt, 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 farce, farcical Shakespearean comedy, comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addit ...

'' in 1972,

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

's ''Ordet'' in 1973, and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

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

from 1973 to 1976, and was theatre director at Rogaland Teater in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

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 play ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'' received much acclaim, and it was also played at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, giving Bang-Hansen international recognition. At Rogaland Teater he also produced a theatre adaptation of Lev Tolstoj's story '' The Story of a Horse''. He was theatre director at Den Nationale Scene in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

from 1982 to 1986, where one of his most important productions was an adaptation of Sofokles' ''

Theban plays Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

''. 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 Oslo Nye Teater 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 (organization), Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award () and the Frit ...

. He received the Norwegian Critics Prize for Theatre in 1999/2000, and the Hedda Award in 2003. He is a member of the

Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature (), commonly known as the Norwegian Academy, is a Norwegian learned body on matters pertaining to the modern Norwegian language in its Dano-Norwegian variety, now commonly known as Riksmål and Bo ...

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