Babette’s Feast:
multilingual and multicultural theatre

Despite the ongoing social change in cultural pluralism in Nordic Countries, the artistic representation and cultural participation of the minority artists are very low. They are often marginalized and excluded by the traditional theatre scene because of their cultural background, language, race, and skin colour.

Thanks to the OpStart funding received in 2021 from the Nordic Culture Fund, REYKJAVÍK ENSEMBLE initiated a collaboration with partners in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Together they set off on an exploration of the Nordic theatre from a diversity standpoint. The inspiration behind the project was the world-known, enthralling story of Babette’s Feast by Danish author Karen Blixen, a text deeply rooted in the Nordic literary culture.

During the project REYKJAVÍK ENSEMBLE collaborated with ACT / New Nordic Voices (Denmark), Ós Pressan (Iceland), IMMART – International Migration Meets the Arts (Denmark), Nordic Black Theatre (Norway) and Teater Aros (Sweden), exchanging ideas and drafting plans for future collaboration in creating and promoting inclusive theatre performances.

Multilingual and multicultural productions can serve as platforms for empowering minority artists, immigrants, and refugees living in Nordic countries, through creating new career opportunities, education and volunteering program, and a promotional campaign accompanying the production.

The project has been funded by Nordic Culture Fund through the OpStart program.