Hidden by Clouds: An Ode to the Victims of Domestic Violence

There were creaking noises – knocks on the door – You looked out – in search of – the northern lights – but they were – hidden by clouds. On a frozen January day in Reykjavik, 1988, 26-year-old Greta Birgisdottir was strangled to death by her husband Bragi Olafsson. Ten years on, renowned Icelandic writer Gerour Kristny returned to the scene of the crime to interview Bragi Olafsson and produced Drapa, a retelling of Greta Birgisdottir’s murder, offering her a narrative that as a victim she was until now denied.

A tribute to all women murdered by violent men, Icelandic poet Gerour Kristny presents Drapa, a story of modern-day Nordic crime reimagined through Old Viking Skaldic verse, musically accompanied by members of ALDAorchestra . In this rare event, Kristny 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 Greta Birgisdottir, but all women who have suffered abuse at the hands of those closest to them.