Five winners of Ibsen Scope Grants

Five theater companies, in five countries, are now creating five new performances that comment on our contemporary social and political landscape – all with Ibsen's classic dramas as their pivot point.

Winners 2026

An Enemy of the People. The Ages of Lies , by Studio Bahn, South Korea

Ghosts Dissection , by Valentino Grizutti, Augustin Gagliardi and Guido Losantos, Argentina

The Wholly-Water , by Dafa Theatre, Czech Republic

When We Dead Awaken (We Have Never Lived) , by Doppelgangster, Australia

ГОРА | The Mountain , by Mesto D/Место Действие and Alina Sobotta, Kyrgyzstan

In South Korea, Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” is the starting point for examining the intersection between individual trauma and the systemic production of lies. “Gangsters” opens up collective conversations about mental health and its social dimensions in Argentina. The parallels between Brand’s rigid idealism and contemporary state ideologies that justify violence in the name of morality are drawn in the Czech Republic. In Australia, they rip up “When the Dead Awaken” to perform a black metal/dream-pop musical about how we imagine our death and the end of the planet, and in Kyrgyzstan, the same piece, “When the Dead Awaken,” is used as a lens to reflect on contemporary relationships with fear, silence, and the urgent desire for freedom.

About Ibsen Scope

Ibsen Scope has now supported 58 projects in 37 different countries through Ibsen Scope Grants.
Ibsen Scope Grants were initiated by the Norwegian government in 2007 and are awarded to innovative performing arts projects that serve as incentives for critical discourse on existential and societal themes related to Henrik Ibsen's works.

Ibsen Scope Grants are awarded every two years, and the total amount under the program is NOK 2,000,000.
Ibsen Scope Grants will be announced again for 2028.