Award winning international touring company
Brite Theater is an independent theatre group founded by artistic director Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir in 2006. We are especially interested in audience and site specific work, using participation, direct address, shared lighting, promenade and unconventional theatre spaces.
You could say we're eclectic...
Previous productions include original dance theatre piece Kjöt (2006), adaptation of Chekov's The Seagull (2008), site specific promenade piece Nobody Dances With Themselves (2009), deconstructed King Lear, original Shakespeare mash-up My Only Love Sprung from My Only Hate, devised Coriolanus made in fifty hours, verbatim solo show Chet Baker, Love, treasure hunt Exeter Love Story (all 2013), promenade experience mixing the Bard with Dante Shakespeare in Hell (2014), original play Bitter Sweet (2015), the New Territories Award winning spoken word/concert (Can This Be) Home (2016-19), a set of instructions delivered to your home Deliverance (2020-21) a performance poetry film Two People, Alone (2021), online participatory commissions Bubblebath is Not a Rebellion by Ink Asher Hemp and (Instructions for a) Ghost Disco by Stella Green, new play about grief and terrorism Sandcastles by Steve McMahon... We believe that each show should have the form best suited to them and whatever engages the audience most directly is always our pick.
You could say we're eclectic...
Previous productions include original dance theatre piece Kjöt (2006), adaptation of Chekov's The Seagull (2008), site specific promenade piece Nobody Dances With Themselves (2009), deconstructed King Lear, original Shakespeare mash-up My Only Love Sprung from My Only Hate, devised Coriolanus made in fifty hours, verbatim solo show Chet Baker, Love, treasure hunt Exeter Love Story (all 2013), promenade experience mixing the Bard with Dante Shakespeare in Hell (2014), original play Bitter Sweet (2015), the New Territories Award winning spoken word/concert (Can This Be) Home (2016-19), a set of instructions delivered to your home Deliverance (2020-21) a performance poetry film Two People, Alone (2021), online participatory commissions Bubblebath is Not a Rebellion by Ink Asher Hemp and (Instructions for a) Ghost Disco by Stella Green, new play about grief and terrorism Sandcastles by Steve McMahon... We believe that each show should have the form best suited to them and whatever engages the audience most directly is always our pick.
The Coward Conscience Trilogy
Created by associate artist Emily Carding and Artistic Director Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir, the Coward Conscience trilogy comprises of three solo-Shakespeares with audience participation at their heart. Richard III (a one-person show), Hamlet (an experience) and Timonopoly all invite the audience to get closer to the Bard's characters, under the skin of the action and the text and experience Shakespeare in a playful way. The works have collected great many awards between them and toured the world, from Karachi to Suðureyri, New York to Prague, Edinburgh to Seoul. They are all available for touring, with no tech requirements or set.
Artists
At Brite Theater we strongly believe that each project should be and feel different, so the group of artists working on each one will naturally differ. However, our core group consists of the Artistic Director, Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir, and Associate Artists: Emily Carding, Tom Oakes, Alisa Kalyanova, Marion Geoffray and Rob Willoughby.
We believe in risk, collaboration and artistic freedom to experiment. All associates are artists in their own right and so can lead on our projects, support them or focus on their own projects and come back to us when it suits them. If you want to find out more about our processes, getting involved with our work, us individually or collectively, please do get in touch. We always want to talk to bold thinkers and exciting creatives.
Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir
Kolbrún has been the artistic director of Brite Theater since its founding in her home country of Iceland in 2006. She has directed all of the groups performances apart from Chet Baker, Love and has written or adapted all of our scripts to date. She did the adaptation of Richard III (a one-person show) and Hamlet (an experience) with Emily Carding, as well as directing and co-producing the shows. She was the writer, performer and director for (Can This Be) Home. She came up with the concept and text for Deliverance. She directed our production of Sandcastles and Timonopoly.
Emily Carding
Critically acclaimed author, artist and Tarot maker, Emily, is well known for their vivid performances of Shakespeare's work. Emily is the star of Richard III (a one-person show), Hamlet (an experience) and Timonopoly with multiple awards to their name for all perfomances. They have been a long term collaborator, starring in Brite Theater's productions of Shakespeare in Hell, Titus Andronicus and King Lear. Emily also co-produced all of those shows and adapted the script for Richard III and Hamlet with Kolbrún. Emily was a consultant on Deliverance.
Tom Oakes
Devon born Tom is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was nominated as the Musician of the Year at the Scottish Trad Awards 2019. He tours the world regularly with duo Ross Couper and Tom Oakes and trio OBT. He releases a variety of music regularly on his label Window Weather. Tom was a performer, musician, composer and sound designer for Brite Theater's (Can This Be) Home. He previously did sound design and music for our The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Shakespeare in Hell. Tom did sound design for our production of Sandcastles. Tom recently released his first solo album, Waters Street, and did the sound design for hang at the Tron. His solo show Forge is on at this year's Fringe festival.
Alisa Kalyanova
Alisa is a theatre designer based in Glasgow. She studied Graphic design and Visual Communication at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, before training in Set and Costume Design at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Upon graduation, she received the John Groves Technical Award for overall achievement across her studies. Recent work in theatre includes Exodus (NTS), hang (Tron Theatre), Julius Caesar (Company of Wolves),The Merry Widow (Opera Bohemia, Scottish tour), The Mistress Contract (Tron Theatre), Trojans (Platform and Edinburgh Fringe), The Lost Elves, Humbug! and Lampedusa (Citizens Theatre). Alisa is one of the artists who made Deliverance.
Rob Willoughby
Rob Willoughby (previously Jones) is an artist who makes theatre, sound, video and games. He's interested in creating bold, exuberant projects that find innovative ways to tell stories. His directing credits include GYOG (National Theatre of Scotland), Drone (Harry Josephine Giles), Egg (Paper Doll Militia) and Amy Conway's Super Awesome World (RiotBox / Summerhall). He recently did video design for Exodus (NTS) and Me and My Sister Tell Each Other Everything (Tron). Rob was awarded a Leverhulme Arts Scholarship by the JMK Theatre Trust and the Traverse, won the 2014 Platform 18 Award at The Arches, and was a participant in the National Theatre of Scotland's Emerge Programme 2012. Rob is one of the artists who made Deliverance.
Marion Geoffray
Marion is a theatre maker, playwright and deviser working in Edinburgh. Originally from the South of France she's been working in the UK for over 15 years. Seven of those she ran Theatre Sans Accents, an award winning bilingual theatre company which promoted language learning through the arts as well as produced performances by international artists in Scotland. She has worked with Imaginate, Fringe Society, Children's Parliament, Hidden Door Festival, Institute Francais d'Ecosse, Lyra, Starcatchers, EIF, Bilingualism Matters, Strange Town and National Galleries of Scotland to name a few. Marion was one of the deliverers for Deliverance.
We believe in risk, collaboration and artistic freedom to experiment. All associates are artists in their own right and so can lead on our projects, support them or focus on their own projects and come back to us when it suits them. If you want to find out more about our processes, getting involved with our work, us individually or collectively, please do get in touch. We always want to talk to bold thinkers and exciting creatives.
Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir
Kolbrún has been the artistic director of Brite Theater since its founding in her home country of Iceland in 2006. She has directed all of the groups performances apart from Chet Baker, Love and has written or adapted all of our scripts to date. She did the adaptation of Richard III (a one-person show) and Hamlet (an experience) with Emily Carding, as well as directing and co-producing the shows. She was the writer, performer and director for (Can This Be) Home. She came up with the concept and text for Deliverance. She directed our production of Sandcastles and Timonopoly.
Emily Carding
Critically acclaimed author, artist and Tarot maker, Emily, is well known for their vivid performances of Shakespeare's work. Emily is the star of Richard III (a one-person show), Hamlet (an experience) and Timonopoly with multiple awards to their name for all perfomances. They have been a long term collaborator, starring in Brite Theater's productions of Shakespeare in Hell, Titus Andronicus and King Lear. Emily also co-produced all of those shows and adapted the script for Richard III and Hamlet with Kolbrún. Emily was a consultant on Deliverance.
Tom Oakes
Devon born Tom is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was nominated as the Musician of the Year at the Scottish Trad Awards 2019. He tours the world regularly with duo Ross Couper and Tom Oakes and trio OBT. He releases a variety of music regularly on his label Window Weather. Tom was a performer, musician, composer and sound designer for Brite Theater's (Can This Be) Home. He previously did sound design and music for our The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Shakespeare in Hell. Tom did sound design for our production of Sandcastles. Tom recently released his first solo album, Waters Street, and did the sound design for hang at the Tron. His solo show Forge is on at this year's Fringe festival.
Alisa Kalyanova
Alisa is a theatre designer based in Glasgow. She studied Graphic design and Visual Communication at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, before training in Set and Costume Design at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Upon graduation, she received the John Groves Technical Award for overall achievement across her studies. Recent work in theatre includes Exodus (NTS), hang (Tron Theatre), Julius Caesar (Company of Wolves),The Merry Widow (Opera Bohemia, Scottish tour), The Mistress Contract (Tron Theatre), Trojans (Platform and Edinburgh Fringe), The Lost Elves, Humbug! and Lampedusa (Citizens Theatre). Alisa is one of the artists who made Deliverance.
Rob Willoughby
Rob Willoughby (previously Jones) is an artist who makes theatre, sound, video and games. He's interested in creating bold, exuberant projects that find innovative ways to tell stories. His directing credits include GYOG (National Theatre of Scotland), Drone (Harry Josephine Giles), Egg (Paper Doll Militia) and Amy Conway's Super Awesome World (RiotBox / Summerhall). He recently did video design for Exodus (NTS) and Me and My Sister Tell Each Other Everything (Tron). Rob was awarded a Leverhulme Arts Scholarship by the JMK Theatre Trust and the Traverse, won the 2014 Platform 18 Award at The Arches, and was a participant in the National Theatre of Scotland's Emerge Programme 2012. Rob is one of the artists who made Deliverance.
Marion Geoffray
Marion is a theatre maker, playwright and deviser working in Edinburgh. Originally from the South of France she's been working in the UK for over 15 years. Seven of those she ran Theatre Sans Accents, an award winning bilingual theatre company which promoted language learning through the arts as well as produced performances by international artists in Scotland. She has worked with Imaginate, Fringe Society, Children's Parliament, Hidden Door Festival, Institute Francais d'Ecosse, Lyra, Starcatchers, EIF, Bilingualism Matters, Strange Town and National Galleries of Scotland to name a few. Marion was one of the deliverers for Deliverance.
Manifesto
To see the world through theatre and theatre through the world
To make work that only we can make, taking it to unorthodox theatre spaces, to unlikely theatre audiences, to those who want to explore and see things anew
To champion female, migrant and queer stories
To always include the audience in our work, whether that is one person or a hundred
To cherish the intimate liveness of theatre
To challenge ourselves and our audiences at every turn
To make work that only we can make, taking it to unorthodox theatre spaces, to unlikely theatre audiences, to those who want to explore and see things anew
To champion female, migrant and queer stories
To always include the audience in our work, whether that is one person or a hundred
To cherish the intimate liveness of theatre
To challenge ourselves and our audiences at every turn