Alan Lucien Øyen

Alan Lucien Øyen Alan is one of the most exciting artists from Norway today, whose work as writer, director and choreographer has been highly acclaimed in his home country and abroad.

As the son of a dresser, Alan grew up in a small theatre, Den Nationale Scene, established by Ibsen himself, in the town of Bergen, Norway. Here he would watch theatre religiously from the age of 7 - classical productions as well as contemporary masterworks like the very first world premieres from Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse.

At the age of 17 he went on to study Ballet with Hungarian ballet master and Marinsky graduate Peter Tornev, whom he studied with for two years before being accepted into the State School of Art in Oslo where he graduated as a dancer in 2001.

Alan spent his first years as a dancer with The Norwegian National Contemporary dance company, Carte Blanche, where he met American choreographer Amanda Miller, he later went on to join her company Pretty Ugly in Köln in 2005.

Alan choreographed his first piece "excerpts of citation without context" in 2004, a solo dealing with the over- exposure of information in modern day society based on Jean Beudrillard' essay "Ecran Totale" (Screened Out).

By 2006 he’d already established his own company winter guests - a multidisciplinary company bringing together actors, dancers, writers, set designers and technicians, touring theatrical works in English for the international stage. Since 2009 his plays for winter guests has been written and developed together with British playwright and director Andrew Wale.

Whether it's theatre, dance or film, Alan's works have a highly emotional and dramatic drive. His choreographic language is complex and technically challenging. His works are informed by the world around him which allows him to draw inspiration from a myriad of sources including high art and popular culture as well as personal conversations and experiences - always in pursuit of a sincere and human expression.

Alan has won several awards, both for his choreographic works as well as his theatre productions. His a six hour long play “Coelacanth”, (co-written with Andrew Wale), won him the prestigious HEDDA Award, (Norwegian Theatre Awards), for Best Original Play, as well as three other nominations including Best Director and Best Play.

Besides his work for winter guests, Alan is also commissioned internationally to create work for opera houses, contemporary dance companies, and stage plays for regional theatres. He was one of the first two guest choreographers commissioned to create a full-length piece for the renowned Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, which premiered June 2018 and is currently touring the world.

As associated artist at the Oslo Opera House since 2013, Alan is given the space and freedom for himself, and his company winter guests, to make groundbreaking theatre and dance performances in the stunning new Norwegian Opera House. Alan was awarded the 2018 Wilhelmsens Opera og Ballettpris Award for challenging the traditional opera and ballet context with his original theatre works.

Alan and winter guests receives annual funding from the Norwegian Arts Council and has been generously supported since 2004.

Alan Lucien Øyen

Artistic Director
+47 9228 5849
alan@winterguests.com

Martin Flack

Managing Director
+47 9345 9470
martin@winterguests.com