Eline Arbo

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Eline Arbo
Born(1986-01-13)13 January 1986 [1]
Tromsø, Norway
Alma mater
Years active2018–present

Eline Arbo (born 13 January 1986) is a Norwegian theatre director and playwright. As of 2023, she is Artistic Director of the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA). For the London production of The Years , which she adapted and directed, Arbo won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director.

Contents

Early life

Arbo was born in Tromsø, her father a sociologist and her mother an artist. She graduated from the University of Oslo with a degree in Theatre Studies. She then took a directing course at the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam. She also learned Dutch. [1]

Career

Arbo debut work was an adaptation of Johann Wolfgang Goethe's classic coming-of-age novel The Sorrows of Young Werther with Toneelschuur Producties. Its staging at the 2018 Dutch Theatre Festival won Arbo the 2018 BNG Bank Theatre Prize. [2] In Norway, Arbo directed Henrik Ibsen's Hærmennene på Helgeland at the 2018 Ibsen Festival. This was followed in 2019 by Ibsen's Peer Gynt at Tromsø's Hålogaland Teater [3] as well as The Revolutionaries, based on the ideas of Albert Camus, and Roland Schimmelpfennig's Black Water. She directed an adaptation of Édouard Louis' The End of Eddy. [4] [5] For the latter, she won VSCD Directors' Award at the 2020 Dutch Theatre Festival and the Theatre Viewers Award. [6] She later brought The End of Eddy to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Also in 2020, Arbo directed Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters commissioned by Toneelschuur, [7] for which she won the 2021 Mary Dresselhuys Prize. [8]

In 2021, Arbo directed Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart [5] at the Rogaland Teater in Stavanger and an adaptation of Michael Cunningham's The Hours (2021) (De Uren) at the ITA. [9] She later made a Danish version of The Hours titled Timerne at the Royal Playhouse in Copenhagen. [10] Arbo also adapted Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre for the National Theatre Oslo. [11]

In 2022, Arbo adapted Annie Ernaux's memoir The Years for stage, which premiered at the Het Nationale Theater in The Hague. An English adaptation of The Years premiered at London's Almeida Theatre in 2024 before having a run at the Harold Pinter Theatre, marking Arbo's West End debut. For her direction, Arbo won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director. The production also received a nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play among other accolades. [12] [13]

Arbo started working as an associate with Ivo van Hove, Artistic Director of the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) in 2022. In 2023, Arbo was appointed Artistic Director of the ITA, taking over from van Hove, who had served in the position for 22 years. [14] She was also appointed Ibsen Artist in Residence, supported by the Philip Loubser Foundation. [15] [16] Arbo's debut work with the ITA was Heinrich von Kleist's Penthesilea. [17] This was followed by the Dutch production of Suzie Miller's Prima Facie , [18] an adaptation of Lars Trier's Melancholia in The Hague, [19] and Connie Palmen's The Laws. [20] She collaborated with the National Theatre Oslo on Haugtussa, incorporating the works of composer Edvard Greig. [21]

Artistry

Arbo's theatre-making style often takes an "innovative" approach to both classic works and more modern novels. She incorporates live music cues into her staging, making the plays she directs feel like "rock concerts", as well as elaborate sets. [14]

Personal life

Arbo is in a relationship with Dutch composer Thijs van Vuure. [14]

In media

Arbo was the subject of a 2025 short documentary film directed by Marjoleine Boonstra titled The Storm Within. [22]

References

  1. 1 2 van Gelder, Lorianne (2022-12-10). "Theaterregisseur Eline Arbo: 'De witte man heeft nog steeds het monopolie op existentiële vragen'". Het Parool - PS (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2023-06-14. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  2. ↑ Beeckmans, Joke. "Eline Arbo wint BNG Bank Theaterprijs 2018". Theaterkrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  3. ↑ "Peer Gynt". Scene Web. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "De Officiële Juryselectie 2020 is bekend!". Nederlands Theater Festival (in Dutch). 2020-07-08. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  5. 1 2 Hemming, Sarah (22 January 2021). "Theatre director Eline Arbo: 'It's an exercise in empathy'". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  6. ↑ Beeckman, Joke. "Eline Arbo wint de Regieprijs 2020". Theaterkrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  7. ↑ "Drie Zusters (2020)". Thijs van Vuure. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  8. ↑ van den Berg, Simon. "Mary Dresselhuys Prijs voor Eline Arbo". Theaterkrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  9. ↑ "de uren". ITA (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  10. ↑ Brandrup, Jesper (18 January 2024). ": Timerne (The Hours), Det Kongelige Teater" (in Danish). Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  11. ↑ Børja, Maria. "En ung kvinne som vet hun er annerledes" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Luckhurst, Georgia (7 April 2025). "Olivier winner Eline Arbo: The Years is so much more than the abortion scene". The Stage. Retrieved 15 April 2025.(subscription required)
  13. ↑ "2025 Olivier Awards: John Lithgow, Lesley Manville and Eline Arbo win big on theatre's biggest night". The Express Tribune. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 Tripney, Natasha (4 April 2024). "From the Arctic Circle to the top of European theatre: director Eline Arbo on being 'an outsider looking in'". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Eline Arbo: Profile". Holland Festival. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Director Eline Arbo". ITA. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Ivo van Hove to depart International Theater Amsterdam, Eline Arbo to take over". West End Theatre. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "Prima Facie". Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  19. ↑ "Het Nationale Theater: Melancholia". Theater aan het Vrijthof. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "De wetten". Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  21. ↑ Wiznitzer, Amber (15 September 2024). "Eenzaamheid, liefdesverdriet, dansen met de dood: de Noorse voorstelling 'Haugtussa' behandelt universele thema's". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Ammodo Doc about Eline Arbo premieres at ITA". Ammodo Art. 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
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