The Saint Olav drama
Storytelling, experience and engagement!
"The play of Saint Olav" is a dramatization of what happened on the farm Sul in the days before the battle of Stiklestad in the year 1030.
The play was written by Olav Gullvåg, and Paul Okkenhaug composed the music.
In the game's more than 70-year history, various instructors, actors, amateurs and volunteers have taken part in performing this story and putting their own stamp on Olav Gullvåg's text and Paul Okkenhaug's music. As the producer responsible for the game, Stiklestad National Cultural Center is concerned that the story is told and performed in different ways, so that we can feel both the tradition and how this affects us today. The stories told in the game are about the big turning point: after Olav's fall, Norway as a kingdom is no longer questioned. The consequences after 1030 are of such a nature that we will celebrate the national jubilee in 2030 - Norway for a thousand years.
In the performance, we meet both the close and the big stories: societal change, change of faith, change of mentality. Everyday life on the farm is challenged by big politics, and the most vulnerable individual meets the king. After Olav has ridden into the farmyard, life will not be the same...
Played at Friluftscenen
DURATION
about. 2 hours without a break
Performances in 2025:
Friday. 25 July at 19.00
Saturday. 26 July at 19.00
Sunday. 27 July at 19.00
Tuesday. 29 July at 19.00
PRICE LIST
The amphitheater has 4 price categories and has
seats for around 5.000 spectators.
read more about
the family ticket for
2 adults and 2 children here.
Groups over 15
Ordered online or
feel free to get in touch
tel. 74 04 42 00 / stiklestad@snk.no
Parts of fields A and B are adapted for wheelchair users.
Contact to order on tel. 74 04 42 00
or e-mail stiklestad@snk.no.
Artistic layer
artistic leader:
Nina Wester
The historical backdrop for the game
The Viking king, the saint king and Norway's eternal king. What is really the background to why a Game about Olav Haraldsson / Olav the Holy has been set up here?
The history of the game
Who was the author Olav Gullvåg? Or the composer Paul Okkenhaug? And where did the idea for Sheriff Jon Suul come from?
The action in the Game about Saint Olav
On the mountain farm Sul, near Stiklestad, lives a peaceful farming family. They end up at the center of powerful events in a dispute about power over country and kingdom.
The characters in the game
Who was Tormod Kolbrunarskald really? Get a quick introduction to the characters in the Game of Saint Olav. Their names and who they are, were they real or made up?