Edinburgh, 1- 25 August: This year's edition of the world's largest performing arts festival brings an exciting roster of Norwegian acts to Scotland. Expect a fabulous mix of stand-up, cabaret and musical theatre. 

★ Wakati

Wakati is a Swahili word for time. The dance performance Wakati explores how past, present and future affect the development of a culture and the life of a human. By using her own experience of immigrating to Norway from Kenya, Shelmith Øseth examines the expectations, ideas and limits that come with being an immigrant and multicultural in Norway. 

★ Thor Stenhaug - One Night Stand Baby

Thor Stenhaug is a one-night-stand baby. This is a show about love, life (drawings), and being not just a son to your parents – but more like a mutual friend. Thor Stenhaug is a Norwegian comedian based in the UK. In a short period of time, he has built a big online following, headlined top comedy clubs and been shortlisted for British Comedian of the Year – despite not being British.

★ Pernille Haaland - Running with the Wolves

Pernille Haaland flipped her world upside down during lockdown, trading London's gritty streets for the cold, dark fjords of Norway. She's settled in surprisingly well, made friends with the local wolves and seems to be thriving, which is great timing given that the world seems to be unraveling. With far-right extremism on the rise, wars erupting and women's rights under attack, it's truly a golden age for a single, childless lady in her 30s.

★ Hygge

Welcome to Hygge. A stand-up hour like no other, featuring a bunch of professional Scandinavian comedians, performing in English. Want to know what hygge means? So do we. Let us cool your warm hearts with our Nordic designed minimalist jokes for one hour. And not a minute longer. We promise to be as excited as we can be, which is not saying much.

★ Naughty Cabaret

Naughty Cabaret is back after a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2024. Hosted by the Anna Marie Simonsen and Marie Kallevik Straume, this is a queer feminist extravaganza full of energy, absurdity and ridiculousness with an ever-changing line up of clown, character comedy, boyband, burlesque, music and more.

★ Nocturne Musical

Nocturne is a new original musical rooted in Norwegian folklore and folk music, inviting you on a mysterious and inspiring journey filled with enchanting music, puppetry and physical theatre. Join protagonist Solveig (played by Hedda Rustad Carlsen) as she delves into the forest of ancient fairytales, encountering familiar characters and dark mysteries. 

★ Maestroclass

Karl Magnus Moshuus (nicknamed The Norwegian Borat by audience members) presents his most ambitious work to date: MaestroClass! Meet Maestro, self-proclaimed genius and conductor extraordinaire. Maestro invites you to participate in his MaestroClass - he promises he will have your inner virtuoso working in no-time. 

★ 1 and Done

Two of UK's newest award-winning stand-up comedians come together for their Edinburgh debut, 1 and Done. With 50 million Instagram views, Henning Nilsen leans heavily into his Norwegian deadpan persona. And Valeria, a former mathematician and current Moldovan, ensures Eastern European immigrant life is not left unexamined. 

And more!

You can also join the talk "Nordic Performing Arts: Collaboration, Mobility & Touring Opportunities" on 19 August as part of the Fringe Central programme. Performing Arts Hub Norway (PAHN) and Nordic partners come together for an inspiring conversation on international touring, collaboration, and mobility within the Nordic performing arts scene.

Photographed: Shelmith Øseth - Wakati

Edinburgh, 25 July - 17 August: Powderhall Bronze Editions Gallery will be showcasing a curated selection of works by renowned Norwegian artist Tove Hirth as part of their summer exhibition programme.

Working in wax and casting into bronze, Hirth’s work aims to express what she cannot say in words. Fascinated by the human body, her figurative pieces are inspired by human emotions, relationships and the amazing feats our bodies can achieve. This exhibition features pieces made over the past 15 years alongside selected works from Hirth’s latest body of work titled ‘Out of the Woods’.

Liverpool, FACT, until 14 September: Linda Lamignan (b.1988, Norway) is participating with the work We are touched by the trees in a forest of eyes (2025), a multi-channel video installation on view at FACT.

Linda Lamignan’s work questions the different ways in which humans treat and value the natural world, whether for profit or as something to be respected and protected. They work with materials connected to the industries, histories, living landscapes and cultural relations between West Africa and Europe. This new multi-screen video work references the artist’s ancestry, the knowledge systems of animism and geology. It centers around the long history of palm oil and petroleum extraction in Nigeria’s Delta State and the trade with Liverpool from the late 18th century to the present.

Lamignan’s work is commissioned by Liverpool Biennial, with support from Office for Contemporary Art Norway and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London.

Above: Linda Lamignan, Artist Portrait. Photo by Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo.

This year's BBC Proms – the world’s biggest and longest-running music festival - gets started in just a few weeks. This year's lineup includes a number of leading musicians from Norway:
 
🎶 Saturday 2 August, Royal Albert Hall: Soprano Mari Eriksmoen is joining with the Hallé Orchestra and Choirs for Gustav Mahler’s 'Resurrection' Symphony.

🎶 Friday 8 August, Royal Albert Hall: Bjarte Eike & Barokksolistene are part of the all-night 'From Dark Til Dawn' Prom.

🎶 Sunday 31 August, Royal Albert Hall: Katarina Barruk is performing with Pekka Kuusisto and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

Above: Barokksolistene. Credit: Knut Utler

Happening now

'Girl, 1983' by prolific writer Linn Ullmann is now available in the UK, published by Penguin's Hamish Hamilton imprint. Set in Oslo, New York and Paris, Girl, 1983 is a raw and haunting exposure of beauty and forgetting, desire and shame, power and powerlessness.

Kari Steihaug and Lise B. Linnert are among the artists included in the exhibition Soft Power: Lives told through textile art at the RWA in Bristol. Until 10 August.

Born in Stavanger in 1988, Linda Lamignan is one of the artists showing at this year's Liverpool Biennial. Through video, sound and objects, Lamignan explores notions related to storytelling and translation, transformation and love. Until 14 September.

▶ 25 July-17 August, Edinburgh

Powderhall Bronze Editions Gallery will be showcasing a curated selection of works by renowned Norwegian artist Tove Hirth as part of their summer exhibition programme.

▶ 1-25 August, Edinburgh

The world's largest performance arts festival Edinburgh Fringe sees a number of Norwegian acts. More info and tickets here.

▶ 2 August, London

As part of the BBC Proms, Soprano Mari Eriksmoen is performing with the Hallé in Mahler's Resurrection Symphony.

▶ 8 August, London

Bjarte Eike & Barokksolistene are part of the all-night 'From Dark Til Dawn' Prom at Royal Albert Hall.

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