Let’s do something fun together: Play Review about Hlið við hlið

Photo: Stefanía Elín Linnet

What do ABBA, Elvis Presley, Queen and Friðrik Dór have in common? Well, all of them have had their songs turned into musicals, where the lyrics are woven into the storyline. The musical Hlið við hlið (e. Side by side) premiered at Gamla Bíó on August 27th. It is based on the songs by the musician Friðrik Dór, but the script was written by Höskuldur Þór Jónsson and Berglind Alda Ástþórsdóttir. The same performing arts group was also responsible for another popular musical, Ðe lónlí blú bojs, which was shown at Bæjarbíó in Hafnarfjörður in 2019. It was based on the songs by a band with the same name but then the script was solely written by Höskuldur Þór.

Hlið við hlið takes place at a small Icelandic countryside hotel where a young man, Dagur, gets a summer job. The hotel staff is a collection of peculiar characters who have known each other for years. After Dagur’s arrival, things gradually start to fall apart and the (romantic) and friendships of the people at the hotel are threatened.

Kristinn Óli Haraldsson in the role of Dagur
Photo: Stefanía Elín Linnet

Kristinn Óli Haraldsson, also known as the musician Króli, plays the role of Dagur and does so brilliantly. Dagur is a very stressed young man, which Kristinn is able to deliver well. In the beginning I thought the acting to be overbearing at times, but as the show went on it grew on me because the exaggerated personality of the hotel staff is a big part of the whole picture. The actors delivered their parts clearly, whether it was the portrayal of the characters, the dancing or the singing. However, it was Berglind Alda who stood out in her role as the hotel receptionist, Halla, with her good sense of comedy, which is incredible considering her young age, Berglind is just 22 years old. Her performance in the final scene was also a pleasant surprise where she sang a duet with the cook Rikki, which Kolbeinn Sveinsson portrays with power and confidence. 

The actors’ singing talents were undoubtable, after all a big portion of them come from musical backgrounds. Agla Bríet Bárudóttir, who plays the role of the Sísí the city girl, is for example the lead singer of the band Karma Brigade, and Jón Svavar Jósefsson, who plays the hotel manager, Grímur, is a trained classical opera singer. Snorri Beck Magnússon scored Friðrik Dór’s songs in a new way for the play, but it was also interesting to see how the lyrics and songs were woven into the playwrights’, Berglind and Höskuldur, storyline. I actually thought that Kristinn got a few too many ballads in the role of Dagur; it would have been fine to reduce them by one or two. The sound system at Gamla Bíó was also set up in such a way that we who sat at the balcony couldn’t hear the singers all that well due to the music reaching us better than the singing itself, which was a shame for it was outstanding. 

Berglind Alda and Kolbeinn
Photo: Stefnía Elín Linnet

The story in itself is a simple love story, there are conflicts and resolutions, twists and unexpected scenarios, but in the end all is well. Still, I would have preferred it if maybe one of the couples were queer, which at one point I thought there would be. The final result was that the couples, which were five in total, were all straight. Friðrik’s lyrics were adjusted to the progress of the story at certain points and it would have been a simple solution to increase the diversity of the couples in that way at some point in the play. Queer representation has greatly increased over the years and here was a chance to break up the theatres’ heteronormativity. 

Höskuldur Þór’s set design was simple, on one hand was the reception, a bar and the hotel’s restaurant, and on the other side was Dagur and Hvati’s (Ingi Þór Þórhallsson) bedroom, which stood at the front of the stage to the right. Hekla Nína Hafliðadóttir’s timeless costumes and old-fashioned set were just as plain as the set and therefore all of the audience’ focus was on the actors, the songs, the comedy and the joy.

My experience of the show was, all in all, very good, and even though there were a few things that could have gone better, what we have here is a brilliant and fun family show.