Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.05.2016, Side 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • May 15 2016
VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.LH-INC.CA
Núna (now) 2016 kicks off with the delightful musical play Mission
Potluck, produced by One
Trunk Theatre, touring
Winnipeg, Gimli, Riverton,
and Arborg from May 26 to
June 4. Arne MacPherson of
núna (now) sat down with One
Trunk artistic director Andraea
Sartison to talk about the play.
Arne: What inspired you to
tell this Icelandic story?
Andraea: We began
writing this play when we
were accepted into Aspire
Theatre in Gimli's summer
season. One Trunk Theatre
creates new work and so we
wanted to write something
specifically for this occasion.
We were inspired by the
Icelandic history of Gimli
and began researching
stories, specifically women's
stories, from the area. We had
decided to write about the
1920s in particular because
there was a lot of interesting
things happening for women
at that time. On our first day
together, I had asked the
women to bring a song and
five inspiring images. Every
one of us brought a picture of
the Unitarian church in Gimli
without knowing this was, in
fact, Aspire's venue – it was
just a great coincidence. Soon
we also learned of women
from First Lutheran Church in
Winnipeg who fundraised over
a number of years in building
an Icelandic retirement home
in Gimli. Performing in a
church, and having images
of the iconic building as our
early inspiration, it made
sense to bring in the story of
the Lutheran ladies at First
and feature their Icelandic
heritage.
Arne: How would you
describe the performance?
Andraea: It's a bit of
a potluck : the show has
monologues, instrumental
numbers, dancing, shadow
play, physical theatre, and
group scenes. All round it's a
comedy, though, with lots of
familiar music for the audience
to sing along to. Each of the
writers wrote their character's
monologue and one of the
group scenes, so there are lots
of flavours.
Arne: What do you want
the audience to take away from
seeing the show?
Andraea: It's good old-
fashioned entertainment. It
tells a great story of sisterhood
and community and the value
of friendship and cooperation.
What is great about this
production is it appeals to all
age groups and can be (and
has been) equally enjoyed by a
22-year-old man as a 90-year-
old woman.
Mission Potluck tours
from May 26 to June 4
with performances in
Winnipeg and three Interlake
communities. The venues
and schedule can be found
in Lögberg-Heimskringla's
Calendar of Events (page 14).
Tickets available at www.
brownpapertickets.com.
Mission Potluck promises good
old-fashioned entertainment
Arne MacPherson
Winnipeg, MB
Due to mandatory age of retirement, I have now retired from
being Honorary Consul, which
position I served since 2001 in
Montreal. It is with pleasure
that I introduce our readers to
Nicholas Rémillard, who is the
President and Chief Executive
Officer of the International
Economic Forum of the
Americas (IEFA), which
produces three annual forums,
namely in Toronto, Montreal
and Miami. The focus of
these conferences, which are
known internationally and draw thousands of participants,
including Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grímson, is
on global economic issues – specifically on energy, trade,
infrastructure and finance, among other pressing subjects.
For more information on the IEFA events, please visit: http://
forum-americas.org/.
Mr. Rémillard has been to Iceland several times and will be
travelling there more frequently due to his new positon
Certainly, Iceland’s Foreign Service has chosen a most
worthy and outstanding representative.
Nicolas Rémillard new
Honorary Consul General
in Montreal
David Franklin
Montreal, QC
Andraea Sartison
PHOTO COURTESY OF NÚNA (NOW)
Þórður Bjarni Guðjónsson, the new Consul General of Iceland in Winnipeg, will arrive in the city on May 18, 2016. He is presently
concluding his service as Consul General of
Iceland in the Faroe Islands.
Þórður Bjarni was born July 24, 1956,
in Reykjavík, the son of Guðjón Kristján
Þórarinsson and Kristín Þórðardóttir. He
graduated from the University of Iceland with
a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in
economics and business administration in 1983
and, three years later, earned a Master of Science
degree in economics and business administration
from the Copenhagen Business School.
From 1987 to 1991, Þórður Bjarni was
First Secretary at the Icelandic Mission to the
European Union in Brussels before returning
to Iceland as Counsellor in the External Trade
Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
In 1995, he became Minister-Counsellor and
Deputy Chief of Mission at Icelandic Embassy
to the United Kingdom, in London, and then
returned to Brussels as the Deputy Permanent
Representative of Iceland to the North Atlantic
Council (NATO) in 2000. Returning to Iceland
in 2004, he served three successive roles in the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in additional to
acting responsibilities: Deputy Director, Security
and Disarmament, 2004 to 2006; Director,
International Development, 2007-2010; and
Director, Security and Defence, from 2010 to
2012. He was named Consul General of Iceland
in the Faroe Islands in 2012.
Þórður Bjarni is married to Jórunn
Kristinsdóttir and they have one son, Júlíus Andri
Þórðarson. Þórður Bjarni is a recipient of the
Order of Merit (Chevalier de l´Orde de Mérite) of
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Þórður Bjarni Guðjónsson
Iceland’s new Consul General in
Winnipeg arrives May 18
Nicholas Rémillard (IEFA)