Peer Gynt Play – Scenography
Together with the Peer Gynt Festival and its theater director Marit Moum Aune, Snøhetta has developed an innovative new scenography for the Peer Gynt play by the famous Norwegian playwright-and theater director Henrik Ibsen.
Peer Gynt was introduced in 1867, and the five-act-play is considered a masterpiece within literature, being one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Peer Gynt is played every year during the Peer Gynt Festival at Gålå in Norway.
The spectacular outdoor theatre stage is situated by the idyllic Gålå lake, surrounded by mountains and the forest in the scenic valley of Gudbrandsdalen.
The director’s desire was to bring the audience closer to the Gålå lake, which serves as a mythical backdrop for the stage.
Together with the artistic team of Peer Gynt, led by actress and former Norwegian Minister of Culture, Ellen Horn, Snøhetta developed a scenography which connects the act to the surrounding landscape through a transformational infinity pool.
The scenography is a water-based stage area emphasizing the visual and physical connection to the lake.
By bringing the audience closer to the platform, the scenography creates a sense of being in the middle of the play, bringing the Gålå lake onto the stage and allowing the audience to interact with the water.
By filling the stage with water, the divide between the lake is instantly erased as it creates an illusion of the Gålå lake merging with the platform. With the dramatic landscape and the encapsulating lake as a backdrop, the new scenography fully utilizes the potential of the site as the changing sky is mirrored in the water, creating endless visual opportunities.
To further connect the audience to the stage, the wooden structure encloses the infinity pool, called Solveien, is made from reused wood from the backrest of the chairs in the amphitheater.
This creates a visual connection to the audience and the platform, inviting them in to take part in Peer Gynt’s infamous adventures in a new and innovative way.
