Norwegian theatre directors

Bente Erichsen (born 7 January 1949) is a Norwegian culture director and the current (and inaugural) Director of the Nobel Peace Center.
A former journalist and commercials producer, Erichsen started her career as feature film producer in 1979. By 1998 she had produced 17 features, in addition to directing Over grensen (The Feldmann Case, 1987) and People and Robbers of Cardemom Town (1988), as well as a number short films. Erichsen was also the founder of the Amanda Award (The Norwegian film award) and a co-founder of Heddaprisen (The Norwegian Theatre Award).From 1991 to 1993 Erichsen headed the culture programme of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Norway. She was director of Hedmark Theatre from 1993 to 1997 and director of Norway's National Touring Theatre from 1997 to 2005. In 2005 she became the first director of the Nobel Peace Center.Erichsen has held board positions at numerous film and theatre institutions, and since 2006 has been chair of Amnesty International Norway. and The Open Theatre, Oslo.
In addition to writing numerous film scripts, Erichsen is also author of the book Culture Collision.

Terje Mærli (born 24 December 1940) is a Norwegian playwright, stage director and theatre director.
He was born in Oslo to Steffen Mærli and Inga Lysew. He was stage instructor at the Oslo Nye Teater from 1970 to 1976, at Fjernsynsteatret from 1976 to 1986, and Nationaltheatret from 1987 to 1992. He was theatre director at Trøndelag Teater from 1993 to 1997. He received the Amanda Award for the television movie Du kan da ikke bare gå in 1986, and for Fugleelskerne in 1989. He was awarded the Norwegian Theatre Critics Award in 1988.

Svein Sturla Hungnes (born 21 March 1946) is a Norwegian actor, theatre director, and instructor.
Hungnes studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre from 1965 to 1970, and had several small roles at Nationaltheatret during that time. After he had finished with his exams in winter 1970, he made his real debut, when he played tough young boy Joey in the Homecoming by Harold Pinter. He was noticed, and had larger roles by 1972, when he played Osvald in Ibsen's Ghosts and Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Hungnes was one of the leading actors at Nationaltheatret in the 1970s and 80s, when he also led many instructional exercises. He was acting coach for, among others, Phaedra, Romeo and Juliet, A Doll's House and The Threepenny Opera (which he directed himself). He directed Hamlet at the Trøndelag Teater, Hedda Gabler at Riksteatret and the Nordahl Grieg biography Nordahl i våre hjerter at Den Nationale Scene. At Oslo Nye Teater he produced many musical successes, including Cabaret, Chicago and My Fair Lady, as well as the Hedda Award winner Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
Svein Sturla Hungnes has acted in many Norwegian films since the 1960s, of which Kimen, Mors hus, The Telegraphist and Detector are among the best known.
From 1995 to 2007 Hungnes had the title role in the annual performance of Peer Gynt at the Peer Gynt-stemnet in Gudbrandsdalen. In autumn 2007 he was part of the jury of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation television programme Drømmerollen.
In 2002 Hungnes was head of Oslo Nye Teater. For his contributions to Norwegian theater, in 2004 he was named a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
In 2009 Hungnes received the Oslo City Culture Award.

Nils Kristian Heyerdahl (born 11 April 1941) is a Norwegian historian of ideas, theatre director and non-fiction writer. He was theatre director of Radioteatret in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1991 to 2011, and is President of the Norwegian Academy from 2011.

Knut Hergel (27 November 1899 – 2 September 1982) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director.
Hergel was actor at Stavanger Theater from 1924 to 1926, and at the theatre in Trondheim from 1926 to 1927. He was employed as stage producer at Det Nye Teater (Oslo) from 1928 to 1935. He was instructor at Det Norske Teatret from 1935, and theatre director from 1936 to 1946, except for the war period. As a refugee in Sweden from 1942 to 1945, he worked as an instructor at the Malmö City Theatre. He was theatre director at the National Theatre from 1946 to 1960, and later instructor at the same theatre.

Gudrun Waadeland (3 August 1937 - 8 October 2020) was a Norwegian actress and theatre director.

Merete Skavlan (25 July 1920 – 2 November 2018) was a Norwegian actress, theater instructor and director.
She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of newspaper editor and theatre director Einar Skavlan and music educator Margrethe Bartholdy. She was a granddaughter of literary historian Olaf Skavlan.She was involved in resistance work during World War II, and joined the unofficial "Stanislavskij Group" in 1943. The members of this group founded Studioteatret, and she made her debut at Studioteatret's first performance in 1945, in a translation of Wilder's play The Long Christmas Dinner. She continued to play for Studioteatret until 1950.Her acting career continued at Det Nye Teater, where she played from 1950 to 1952, at Folketeatret from 1952 to 1959, and at Oslo Nye Teater from 1959 to 1967. During the 1960s she also played for Fjernsynsteatret, with roles such as Angustias in an adaptation of García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba, and as Missis Smith in Ionesco's The Bald Soprano.She started working as a theatre instructor, and has participated on productions at Riksteatret, the National Theatre, Det Norske Teatret and Fjernsynsteatret. Her debut as producer was an adaptation for television of Baroness Emma Orczy's novel The Scarlet Pimpernel, for Fjernsynsteatret in 1968. Her debut as stage producer was an adaptation of Bill Naughton's play Spring and Port Wine, for Det Norske Teatret in 1969. She also lectured at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre.From 1984 to 1990 she was employed at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation as head of Radioteatret. She started the independent theatre group Intimteatret in 1991, together with Gerhard Knoop.Skavlan was also a board member of Dagbladet from 1960 to 1974, and subsequently sat on the supervisory council. She died in November 2018 at the age of 98.

Stein Winge (10 November 1940 – 26 February 2024) was a Norwegian stage producer, theatre director and International Emmy-Nominated actor.

Klaus Hagerup (5 March 1946 – 20 December 2018) was a Norwegian author, translator, screenwriter, actor and director. He was also known for his role of Tom in the film The Chieftain (1984).

Henry Cochrane Williamsen Gleditsch (9 November 1902 – 6 October 1942) was a Norwegian stage and film actor and theatre director.
He was born in Kristiania. In his young days he participated in skiing for SFK Lyn. He married Synnøve Tanvik in 1932.He made his acting debut in 1923, and in 1937 he established and took charge of Trøndelag Teater in Trondheim. He had a satirical style, provoking the authorities of the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. People warned him and advised him to flee to Sweden, but he did not do so.Following skirmishes in Majavatn and sabotages in Glomfjord and Malm, conducted by the Norwegian resistance movement, martial law was declared on 6 October 1942 in and around Trondheim, in Nord-Trøndelag and in Grane. In a speech held in the main square in the city center of Trondheim, Josef Terboven declared an imminent crackdown on "those who pull the strings". Henry Gleditsch was executed as a propitiatory reprisal, near Falstad, together with newspaper editor and politician Harald Langhelle and eight other people.