Fredrik Brattberg: The Ferdinand Vaněk Prize
– Norway
A playwright born in 1978, whose plays are performed all around the world. He is the recipient of the prestigious Ibsen Award for his play Tilbakekomstene (The Returns), which was presented in the Czech Republic by the Feste Theater in Brno. Originally trained as a music composer, he has composed over forty compositions, ranging from choral songs to opera to chamber and orchestral pieces. Nowadays, he is one of the most frequently produced Norwegian playwrights abroad, often receiving more productions internationally than in his home country. His plays have been translated into more than twenty languages, and prominent German and French theaters, such as Schauspiel Frankfurt, Théâtre du Rond Point, and Théâtre de la Cité, have included his productions in their repertoire. In his plays, he incorporates music theory and compositional techniques of classical music, resulting in certain scenes being regularly repeated as the plays progress. He was awarded the Ferdinand Vaňek Prize for his play "Position" in a competition organized by the Czech magazine Svět a divadlo.