Dynamic theatre duo launch show with musical favourites and very special guests.
Unstoppable duo, Sigga Eyrún and Bjarni Snæbjörnsson, have been a mainstay on the Icelandic theatre scene for close to two decades. They sat down with GayIceland to talk about their new show, Söngleikjastælar – Musical Styles which will bring together fun, flamboyant performances from classical musicals and special guests from across the Icelandic music and theater scene.
It is obvious that Bjarni is looking forward to the show’s opening night at Salurinn, Kópavogur, on September 20th. “Yes we are excited! We love every part of creating a show like this, deciding what to do, the theme, choosing the songs, rehearsing the songs, learning them and obviously performing them.”
We aim for a fun, camp and flamboyant evening. There is such an extravagant energy in musical numbers and we really embrace that fact.
Going by the duo’s look in the past as their alter egos Viggó and Víóletta, it’s not surprising that audiences can expect full camp from Musical Styles. When asked what kind of show the audience can expect, Sigga says they “aim for a fun, camp and flamboyant evening”. “There is such an extravagant energy in musical numbers and we really embrace that fact. First and foremost we will have fun and we hope that this energy will be felt by the audience.”
The production will include five concerts, each with a special guest singer from the Icelandic music scene. They will be accompanied by a band led by Karl Olgeirsson, who has produced multiple albums and is one of Iceland’s favorite musical directors. Whilst some of the guest singers are perfectly at home on the boards of a musical theatre production, the duo hint that the audience might see a different side to some of the performers, including names like Kristinn Óli (Króli) and Una Torfa.
Sigga: “We try to choose songs that have a big range between them in terms of genre and composers. We want to jump between Sondheim and Richard O’Brien and then go between Rogers & Hammerstein and Robert Lopez, Matt Stone and Trey Parker (who wrote Book of Mormon).”
Bjarni: “It’s the same with the guests – we wanted to give the audience a range of performance artists. We have for example Þór Breiðfjörð, Margrét Eir, Hansa [Jóhanna Vigdís Arnardóttir] and Örn Árnason who have been in the business for years.
On the other hand we have Una Torfa who is an amazing musician actually writing her own musical at the National Theatre (Þjóðleikhúsið).
And Króli is an amazing performer who is just beginning his career and is currently in Leikfélag Akureyrar playing Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors.
And yes – we can expect to see sides of them that the public has never seen before.”
It’s the same with the guests – we wanted to give the audience a range of performance artists.
Musicals have undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, with hits from shows like Hamilton and The Greatest Showman making into the charts across the world. It’s no surprise that Sigga and Bjarni were approached to lend their talents to a concert series bursting with musical favourites.
“We were actually approached by Salurinn (the venue) to do a concert series with this theme. And since we have done something like this before and our repertoire is quite huge we thought it was a fantastic idea and would celebrate our 17 years of friendship.”
These 17 years of friendship have proved very fruitful for the duo, starring together in productions of Les Misérables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Kardemommubærinn and Viggó and Víóletta’s Self Help Musical. It’s clear that there are aspects of musical theatre that strike a chord for both of them, both as individual performers and a certain magic that happens when they perform together.
Sigga: “Well like we said before we love this art form. The combination between music and theatre really resonates with us. When we met 17 years ago we dove into creating the Royal Musical Theatre Couple of Iceland which we called Viggó and Víóletta, they were our alternate egos and self proclaimed musical royalty.
We try to choose songs that have a big range between them in terms of genre and composers. We want to jump between Sondheim and Richard O’Brien and then go between Rogers & Hammerstein and Robert Lopez, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
Bjarni: “There seemed to be a gap in the market because we became extremely busy with gigs and various shenanigans all over the country, being flamboyant, silly and singing showtunes.
We hosted Reykjavík Pride and made our own juke-box musical we called Viggó and Víóletta’s Self Help Musical in 2011. We just love the joy and the unapologetic expression that it all brings.”
That unapologetic expression was the spark that lit the flame for both Bjarni and Sigga, as they discovered their passions for musicals from a young age.
For Bjarni, seeing the Sound of Music on TV was mesmerising and later the stage musical Hair in 1994. “That production quite literally changed my life because I realised that I wanted to do exactly that for a living.”
Reflecting on seeing Annie in the cinema, Sigga says the experience marked her for life. “I have always been drawn to being able to express emotions through song. I am a very vocal person and tend to say what I think out loud – so I have a deep understanding of the characters who break into song. I was like that as a kid and, fortunately, it has stayed with me as an adult. I consider myself lucky to be allowed to do what I love for a living.”
We love this art form. The combination between music and theatre really resonates with us.
The pair chalk up their long standing success in performing together to having fun. Explaining what will make the pair stop, if they ever do, Bjarni says they actually made a pact when they started working together that while they are having fun – they will continue.
“When it becomes boring, we stop. Viggó and Víóletta did a lot of gigs for about 10 years and then life happened and we have often just performed as Bjarni and Sigga.”
Sigga also emphases joy as a key factor in the pair’s ability to keep collaborating and evolving. “It feels right at this point to let the alternate ego’s rest on a beach somewhere (preferably in rehab) and we carry on the torch ourselves. We will always do it through the joy of our collaboration.”
Musical Styles (Söngleikjastælar) will take place at Salurinn, Kópavogur on the following dates:
September 20th: Una Torfa and Hansa (Jóhanna Vigdís)
November 15th: Örn Árnason and Vala Guðnadóttir
February 14th: Margrét Eir and Kristinn Óli (Króli)
April 25th: Björgvin Franz and Þórunn Lárusdóttir
May 9th: Þór Breiðfjörð and Katla Njálsdóttir
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