The Story

"Terje Vigen is a story based on a true character and true events that happened during the Napoleonic war in 1809. The Norwegian Terje bravely attempts to row across the sea, sneaking through a blockade of war ships, to save his family from starvation. He nearly succeeds, but get captured, and his world is changed forever..."

The Multi-Media-Musical

Terje Vigen is a new extravagant one-man musical based on a poem by Henrik Ibsen. A newly produced Film is integrated as part of the set portraying the life of Terje Vigen. A powerful and haunting new score composed by Kjell-Ole Haune, together with an outstanding one-man performance, takes the audience on an emotional roller-coaster ride through the dramatic life of Terje Vigen.

The Musical has claimed international success touring Norway, the USA, and is now heading for its UK Premiere at The Arts Theatre in London's West End, in June 2008.

The music and story appeals to a wide and varied audience of all ages. The performance is currently available in three languages: Norwegian,German and English.

Henrik Ibsen & Terje Vigen

Henrik Johan Ibsen was born in Skien on the 20th March 1828, in a tiny coastal town in the southern part of Norway. He died in Christiania (Oslo) on the 23rd May 1906. Henrik Ibsen is best known for being the author of many popular dramatic plays. His work has been staged in different productions all over the world, over the last century. This popularity makes him the second most popular playwright of all time after Shakespeare.

The story of Terje Vigen is not just an epic tale from the 1800s, but portrays and reflects values which are as important today as when it was first written. The poem contains many elements that Ibsen is known to use as a frame work for many of his plays.

What may stand out as the most significants of all the values addressed in the poem is how Terje finds peace of mind by letting hatred and vengeance resolve in forgiveness. The poem's timeless appeal and important values are the keystone for why we started this project.

Historical Facts

Terje Vigen was probably written during 1861, and first published in 1862. It is inspired by the many brave men who during the Napoleonic war, 1812, rowed across the open sea to Denmark to get food for their starving families. We do know for sure that a man with the name Terje Vigen once lived on these shores, but if the poem describes his life, we do not know.

At Fjære churchyard, on the south cost of Norway not far from Grimstad, a grave still exists bearing the name Terje Vigen. Lyngør, as referred to in the poem, is a harbour north of Grimstad where British ships, in 1812, sank Norway's last frigate. Although the poem is historically epic, it may also express Ibsen's own sense of having survived, with self respect intact, the personal difficulties which burdened his stay in Christiania (Oslo).