Jakob Oftebro Returns To Stage After Injury

Jakob Oftebro (Monster) makes a triumphant return to the stage this week after being seriously burned by a Molotov cocktail in May while filming a riot scene for Hamilton, the TV origin story for Jan Guillou’s series of spy novels.

Now that Oftebro’s facial injuries have improved, he is ready for an outdoor performance of Peer Gynt at Gålå. However, his skin is still too sensitive to be exposed to strong UV rays, so has only been able to rehearse with the rest of the cast late in the evening when the sunlight has dimmed.

The three and a half hour performance of Peer Gynt at Gålå has been the centrepiece of the Peer Gynt festival since 1989, where Henrik Ibsen`s work is celebrated with a nine-day festival of events, concerts, exhibitions and lectures with Lake Gålåvatnet and the picturesque Norwegian mountains serving as its backdrop.

Jakob Oftebro and his father Nils Ole Oftebro (Mammon) reprise their roles from last year’s production in which they play Peer through the ages, beginning in the 1960s and running through until the present day. This continuity means that Jakob Oftebro has been able to fulfil his duties even with limited rehearsal time on the open air stage.

He told NRK: “I wanted to do this again. I was so scared that the accident would leave me with stage fright, that it would be a traumatic experience that might mean I couldn’t be an actor anymore… Do I remember everything from last year? No. But I’ve done it before and it’s coming back to me like a childhood song.”