Highlight of the month is an item from the Lárus Sigurbjörnsson collection, who was an archivist for the city of Reykjavík. On the 22nd of May this year will be 120 years from the birth of this remarkable man, the National and University Library of Iceland holds his performing arts collection.

The collection includes various interesting documents and items such as unpublished plays, both Icelandic and foreign, printed books about the performing arts and card indexes. But the highlight of the month is of a different kind.

This unassuming book is his attempt to record every single person who participated in the performing arts in Iceland, from the foundation of the Reykjavík City Theatre in 1897 to the year 1974 when Lárus died. The entries are written by hand and each of them lists the theatre season, serial number of the performance (if available), play, part, how many times a particular person has performed on stage and other jobs, such as director and musical director. Among the names in the books are: Helgi Skúlason, Haraldur Björnsson, Messíana Tómasdóttir, Arndís Björnsdóttir and Gísli Rúnar Jónsson.

The entry for Gunnþórunn Halldórsdóttir is three pages but she shares one page with another actress, Gunnþórunn Jónsdóttir from Ísafjörður which is registered as acting in one play during the 1972-1973 theatre season. Lárus was exact and everyone had a place in his book, it did not matter if you were one of the most famous actresses in the country during the first half of the 20th century or had one performance to your name.

Lárus wrote an article in her honour for her 80th birthday which was celebrated on the 9th of January 1952 at the National Theatre of Iceland with a performance of Gullna Hliðið (The Golden Gate) by Davíð Stefánsson where she performed the role of Vilborg the herbalist, a role she made famous.

The Theatre Museum of Iceland will celebrate its 20th birthday on March the 9th this year, the museum was originally founded on that day in 2003. Official celebrations will be held in October when the Theatre Museum will open an exhibition dedicated to the work of the artist Lothar Grund. 

The book from the Lárus Sigurbjörnsson collection is on display in March in the Library.