The Blue Planet
The Blue Planet premiered on the main stage of the National Theatre of Iceland in 2001. The play is based on the children’s book The Story of the Blue Planet (1999), which was awarded the Icelandic Literary Prize and has now been translated in over 30 languages.
The Blue Planet has been staged on major theatre stages in cities around the world, including twice in Toronto, at Akvavit Theater in Chicago, in Aalborg Denmark, Lahti and Vaasa in Finland, Luzerne in Switzerland and Gdansk in Poland. A popular musical adaptation premiered on the main stage of the Reykjavík City Theatre in Iceland, in 2016. The Blue Planet premiered at YPT Theatre in Toronto, Canada, in 2005 (dir. Allen MacInnis), receiving five Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations, and was revived in 2013. Other productions include the Maxim Gorky Theater in Berlin, the Tampa University Theater, the Greek National Theatre, the State Puppet Theater of Bulgaria, and a touring “suitcase” production in Hungary. School productions have been staged around the world, in Denmark, Norway, the Baltic countries, in Pakistan, and Iran, among others.
The book and its stage adaptation are widely used in schools, as their themes strongly relate to planetary stewardship and environmental responsibility. The story encourages discussion around ethics, community, and our impact on the world.
Far away in space there is a blue planet. On this planet, only children reside and they can do whatever they want to do because there are no grown-ups. They eat when they are hungry, they sleep when they are tired and they play without any disturbances. The children’s favorite thing is when the butterflies once a year fly with the sun all the way around the planet. Then they lie down on their backs and watch the air fill up with multicolored butterflies. However, one day, a mysterious spaceship lands on the blue planet, and out comes an adult. A man who claims that he can make dreams come true – and change the children’s lives just like that. A dangerous adventure follows and takes the children through dark forests, deep valleys and up in the sky. Their friendship and ingenuity is tested like never before. An enchanting and subtle fairy tale for children and adults.
The Play is represented by Nordiska Aps in Denmark
Order the manuscript here
“Ultimately, Blue Planet succeeds, by stimulating the imagination while still managing to make you think.” – Toronto Star
“…a Seussian mix of wonder, wit and gravitas.” – New York Times
“I have a feeling that The Story of the Blue Planet will become one of the classics”. – Göteborgs Posten
“The story of the Blue planet can be read on many levels: as pure fairytale, a contemplation on ethics, a fable or entertainment… there is one world that encapsulates everything that this story is: genius” – Morgunblaðið
‘The Blue Planet” (based on a best-selling Icelandic book) is a story filled with adventures, in which children will find what they like best: plot twists, magic, humour, horror and a happy, though not obvious, end.” – Trójmiasto.pl Gdansk Poland
“Despite the multitude of subjects tackled, the play is clearly constructed and easily comprehensible to a young audience. What is more, the story of the blue planet and its inhabitants arouses great emotions in children. In the performance I watched most of the audience were children whose degree of excitement at the play seemed to be reaching maximum levels.” – Anna Jazgarska, teatralny.pl
