Stúlkan frá Tungu (The Girl from Tunga) by Indriði Einarsson

The highlight of the month is the play Stúlkan frá Tungu (The Girl from Tunga) by Indriði Einarsson. The Reykjavík Theatre Company premiered the play in the Reykjavík Theatre, Iðnó, on the 26th of December in 1909 and directed by Indriði Einarsson. The script is hand-written by Einarsson and is the only known copy as it was never published. The play was not a success with the audience and was only shown seven times in just over a month, but The Girl from Tunga was performed for the last time on January 30th, 1920. 

The reviews of critics were similarly dismal, as can be read in an anonymous review published in the newspaper Þjóðólfur on New Year's Day 1909: 

"The structure of the play is very deficient from an artistic point of view, and the narrative is quite fragmented and in ruins. It also spoils the play that it’s often torn apart with frequent screen changes, which always take a long time here; some or most of the acts - but there is a total of five - are split. The performance of the actors was not good, at least not for the first time. That night was also very uncomfortable in the theatre due to the draught and cold, so the spectators found the play less impressive and protracted than otherwise, because it is very important when people get together for fun that not all amenities are lacking. But the spectators in the town's theatre are not used to such comfort. Most of them are as uncomfortable as can be. " 

Despite having only worked for the Reykjavík City Theatre, Indriði Einarssons's collection was preserved at the National Theatre for many years, he is often called the father of the National Theatre. The documents, especially the scripts and role books, bear this mark, as many of them are labelled with the names of both the Reykjavík City Theatre and the National Theatre. The National Theatre handed over Indriði Einarsson’s private archives to the National Library of Iceland - University Library in 2018 and it is preserved in the Leikminjasafn (Theatre Museum) (Lbs 2018-20). 

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