Interview with Joan Smith at Hidden by Clouds

A tribute to all women murdered by violent men, Icelandic poet Gerður Kristný presents Drápa, a story of modern-day Nordic crime reimagined through Old Viking Skaldic verse, musically accompanied by members of ALDAorchestra.

On a frozen January day in Reykjavik, 1988, 26-year-old Gréta Birgisdóttir was strangled to death by her husband Bragi Ólafsson. Ten years on, renowned Icelandic writer Gerður Kristný returned to the scene of the crime to interview Bragi Ólafsson and produced Drápa, a retelling of Gréta Birgisdóttir’s murder, offering her a narrative that as a victim she was until now denied.

In this rare event, Kristný brings her book to life through chilling live readings and an accompanying new musical work written specially for this occasion by Helgi Rafn Ingvarsson and performed by members of the British-Icelandic group ALDAorchestra. Inspired by the traumatic stories of victims and their violent perpetrators, the evening will seek to commemorate not only Gréta Birgisdóttir, but all women who have suffered abuse at the hands of those closest to them.

This interview was conducted by Julija Gulbinovic on 09/10/2019 at Wilton’s Music Hall during Hidden By Clouds.