Welcome to Verdal and to historic Stiklestad!

In "The Play of Saint Olav", the mother of all plays , author Olav Guldvåg's dense drama and Paul Okkenhaug's fantastic music provide the framework for the story of Olav Haraldsson's last night at Garden Sul and his fall during the Battle of Stiklestad on July 29, 1030, the battle that shaped Norway.

The premiere of the Olsokspelet "Before the battle" was shown for the first time at Stiklestad on 29 July 1954.

For the first time, the audience saw and heard Olav Haraldsson ask:
"Is this the farm Sul?"

Today, 72 years later, we can look back with pride on the fact that the interaction between professionals, amateurs, volunteers and strong artists has brought the public back to the farm Sul i, decade after decade.

"The Game of Saint Olav" shows the break between the old pagan faith and the new Catholic Christianity.

The content is timeless with relevance to our times, even though it is an almost 1000-year-old story being told.
The story is both about religion and faith, doubt, fear, love, grace and about the very concrete matter of getting the crop into the house.

The field in Sul was trampled down by the King's army in 1030, we also see today that there are many crops that are destroyed in war in today's Europe.

Olav's fall at Stiklestad has influenced culture, politics, the building of the Norwegian monarchy and the building of the nation of Norway.

This was also the turning point for the religious conversion in Norway. Olav Haraldsson was canonized the year after he fell and is known as Olav the Holy, Norway's eternal king.

"The game about Saint Olav" would not have been possible without the strong local involvement we find in Stiklestad and in Verdal. On stage we find professionals and amateurs in good interaction, and in the apparatus behind the stage we find over 500 volunteers who use their holiday time in Stiklestad to create fantastic experiences for the audience.

I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the setting up of "The Game of Saint Olav".

Dear everyone, this year, with new chairs for the audience in the amphitheater, it is extra nice to be able to warmly welcome you to Stiklestad.

Enjoy yourself!