Kolbrún is playwright in residence at Borgarleikhúsið (Reykjavík City Theatre).
FULL LENGTH
Kolbrún Björt has written five original full length shows for Brite Theater, Kjöt (e. Meat), Bitter Sweet, Chet Baker, Love, (Can This Be) Home and Deliverance (produced by Vanishing Point). (Can This Be) Home won the New Territories Award at Prague Fringe 2018. She also had a staged reading of her play Kit Kat performed at the Traverse Theatre Festival as part of their Breakfast Plays in the Festival 2019. Her writing has been described as stripped back, brutal, clever and bold. Her play, This Is a Gift was in the top 50 of the Women's Prize for Playwriting, the Royal Shakespeare Company's 37 Plays and has just had a full production at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
ADAPTATIONS
She has adapted Shakespeare's Richard III and Hamlet (with Emily Carding). Richard III (a one-person show) won all three awards at the Prague Fringe and the Bobby Award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2015. They are currently adapting Timon of Athens for Timonopoly at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025. Kolbrún adapted Chekov's The Seagull (Icelandic National Theatre 2008). She translated Howard Barker's Knowledge and a Girl into Icelandic. Her original Shakespeare mash-ups, My Only Love Sprung from My Only Hate and Shakespeare in Hell (with Emily Carding) have been renowned for providing new insights into the Bard's characters.
DRAMATURGY
She worked as a dramaturg on Gareth Morgan's Notes on Some Persons, Starting to Crack and assisted dramaturg Marc Matthiesen and director Egill Palsson on their adaptation of Frun från havet for Göteborgs Stadsteatern (Gothenburg's City Theatre). She provided dramaturgy for The Hearth by Tom Oakes, nominated Best Original Work at the Scots Trad Awards. She has worked on The House That Melts with the Rain by Jennifer Adam, Sandcastles by Steve McMahon, Pulse by Julie Tsang and ChildMinder by Iain McClure to name a few. Kolbrun has been a script reader for the Tron Theatre, Royal Court and the Traverse Theatre and often provides dramaturgy for their Young Writers scheme.
DEVELOPMENT
Kolbrún is currently working on rewriting Troubles of the Female Variety which she worked on as a mentored playwright at Playwrights' Studio Scotland (2017). She is also rewriting The Birds, or Where Exactly which saw it's first staging (excerpt) at the Tron 100 Festival 2017 and got a second outing at a Stage to Page October, curated by Douglas Maxwell. The Birds was recently developed with support from Playwrights' Studio Scotland with Debbie Hannan at the helm. Lastly Kolbrun is writing Changes, with support from Allan Wilson, Fridrika Benonysdottir and Edinburgh City Council Practice Support Fund. As resident playwright she is developing Endir for Borgarleikhúsið.
Main picture from Deliverance, by Cat Thomson
FULL LENGTH
Kolbrún Björt has written five original full length shows for Brite Theater, Kjöt (e. Meat), Bitter Sweet, Chet Baker, Love, (Can This Be) Home and Deliverance (produced by Vanishing Point). (Can This Be) Home won the New Territories Award at Prague Fringe 2018. She also had a staged reading of her play Kit Kat performed at the Traverse Theatre Festival as part of their Breakfast Plays in the Festival 2019. Her writing has been described as stripped back, brutal, clever and bold. Her play, This Is a Gift was in the top 50 of the Women's Prize for Playwriting, the Royal Shakespeare Company's 37 Plays and has just had a full production at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
ADAPTATIONS
She has adapted Shakespeare's Richard III and Hamlet (with Emily Carding). Richard III (a one-person show) won all three awards at the Prague Fringe and the Bobby Award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2015. They are currently adapting Timon of Athens for Timonopoly at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025. Kolbrún adapted Chekov's The Seagull (Icelandic National Theatre 2008). She translated Howard Barker's Knowledge and a Girl into Icelandic. Her original Shakespeare mash-ups, My Only Love Sprung from My Only Hate and Shakespeare in Hell (with Emily Carding) have been renowned for providing new insights into the Bard's characters.
DRAMATURGY
She worked as a dramaturg on Gareth Morgan's Notes on Some Persons, Starting to Crack and assisted dramaturg Marc Matthiesen and director Egill Palsson on their adaptation of Frun från havet for Göteborgs Stadsteatern (Gothenburg's City Theatre). She provided dramaturgy for The Hearth by Tom Oakes, nominated Best Original Work at the Scots Trad Awards. She has worked on The House That Melts with the Rain by Jennifer Adam, Sandcastles by Steve McMahon, Pulse by Julie Tsang and ChildMinder by Iain McClure to name a few. Kolbrun has been a script reader for the Tron Theatre, Royal Court and the Traverse Theatre and often provides dramaturgy for their Young Writers scheme.
DEVELOPMENT
Kolbrún is currently working on rewriting Troubles of the Female Variety which she worked on as a mentored playwright at Playwrights' Studio Scotland (2017). She is also rewriting The Birds, or Where Exactly which saw it's first staging (excerpt) at the Tron 100 Festival 2017 and got a second outing at a Stage to Page October, curated by Douglas Maxwell. The Birds was recently developed with support from Playwrights' Studio Scotland with Debbie Hannan at the helm. Lastly Kolbrun is writing Changes, with support from Allan Wilson, Fridrika Benonysdottir and Edinburgh City Council Practice Support Fund. As resident playwright she is developing Endir for Borgarleikhúsið.
Main picture from Deliverance, by Cat Thomson