The Reykjavik underground art scene

Chances are if you are coming to Iceland that you have your vacation planned out around sightseeing, exploring the nature and countryside and perhaps taking part in some adventurous activity or two. If you’re spending some time in Reykjavík, it will likely only be in the evenings, and besides looking up some of the best restaurants and bars to go to, you may not have a clue of what else there is to do in the evenings.

Icelandic music is great, but unfortunately you won’t find Sigur Ros playing here every night.

PARTY ALL WEEK LONG

Thankfully, Reykjavík’s art scene is booming, and if you dig a little into it, you’ll find a plethora of entertainment options. In fact, for such a small country the music scene is off the charts, making it hard to go downtown in Reykjavík and not bump into some live music, any day of the week. There are weekly jazz sessions on Sundays (Bryggjan Brewery), Mondays (Húrra), Tuesdays (Kex Hostel) and Wednesdays (Peterson Suite or Múlinn Jazz Club at Harpa Concert Hall). There are several music festivals, both big and small, but perhaps the most interesting one for the underground scene is the Battle of the Bands or Icelandic Music Experiments (Músíktilraunir).

This annual music competition for teenagers and young people (from 13-25 years old) takes place in March and has been running since 1982. This is the root of the Icelandic music scene, where the winners often find success afterward. This is, for example, where Of Monsters and Men was discovered—the winners of the 2010 competition. During the summer the newly crowned winners also tend to play at plenty of gigs around town, so keep your eyes out for small gigs in dark bars.

During the summer in Reykjavik you can expect to see art in unexpected places, such as this photography exhibit on Skolavordustigur Street

Photo: iStockphoto / RnDmS

A BIT OF LAUGHTER

But Iceland’s art scene isn’t solely about the music. In recent years the comedy scene has been blossoming in Reykjavík, and nowadays you can find weekly stand-up gigs and improv shows. Improv Iceland has weekly shows throughout most of the year, and the entry fee is a mere 1500-2000 ISK. Most of their shows are held in Icelandic, although they are so visually entertaining that you don’t necessarily have to know what’s being said to get a laugh out of it. And from time to time they do offer shows in English, such as during their annual Improv Festival (March or April) and in the summertime. Every Monday night you can find stand-up comedy performed in English at Gaukurinn, with free entry, hosted by Goldengang Comedy. Additionally, there are regular stand up shows in Icelandic, as well as big international names that come to perform in Iceland.

BLOSSOMING VARIETY SCENE

Reykjavik Kabarett.

Photo: Leifur Wilberg Orrason

Not only has the comedy scene been blossoming, but also the drag and cabaret scene. Drag-súgur is Iceland’s biggest “drag troupe” and has been performing monthly at Gaukurinn since November 2015. It’s become so big and popular that it has given birth to another drag show, Drag Lab. The Icelandic drag scene contains a mixture of nationalities and is often hosted by Australian comedian Jono Duffy, making it very accessible to an international audience. The same goes for the Reykjavík cabaret scene, where the most established group is Reykjavík Kabarett who frequently import guest performers from around the world and have strong ties with the New York cabaret scene. They also collaborate with Iceland’s drag artists and circus performers, and like Drag-súgur, have given birth to another cabaret group named Ladies & a Gentleman (Dömur og herra).

The Reykjavik Kabarett shows have become very popular and sell out fast.

Photo: Kaspar Bekeris

And did you catch the bit about the circus performers? Yes, although Iceland is only a country of 350,000 inhabitants, an Icelandic Circus exists—Sirkús Íslands. The circus often tours the country during the warmer summer months, mainly performing in their own custom-made circus tent so you might even catch them in a tiny village in the countryside.

Miss Encircled performs at several variety shows such as Reykjavik Kabarett, Sirkús Íslands and the Poetry Brothel.

Photo: Geiri X

SMALL BUT GRAND

The beautiful thing about Reykjavík and its art scene is that it’s small, so all the artists in the underground art scene know one another, and frequently collaborate in creating some truly great entertainment. You can see musicians, burlesque dancers, magicians, aerial acts, painters, tarot readers and circus performers mingle with some of Iceland’s best poets and authors in the quarterly Reykjavík Poetry Brothel, held at IÐNÓ.

Poetry reading and variety are the key ingredients to the popularity of the Rauða Skáldahúsið Poetry Brothel’s quarterly events.

Photo: Geiri X

And the standard is high, as newcomers to the art scene can fairly easily perform with some of the greatest artists in the country, and then no-one wants to be outshined!

This is just the top of the iceberg. Last July Reykjavík Fringe Festival was held for the first time where more than 50 mostly Icelandic artists and groups performed.

Photo: Geiri X

Guests could enjoy short films, gallery openings, installations, theater (including both physical theater performances, interactive ones and virtual reality theater), dance pieces, live music of all genres, drag, cabaret, poetry and comedy or partake in workshops.

If you want to find out more, head over to Tjarnarbíó in Reykjavík’s center for independent theater, join a class at the friendly Kramhúsið studio or check out the newly opened Dance Atelier.

Text: Nanna Gunnars Photos: Courtesy of respective art groups and iStockphoto.com

Read more about art and entertainment in WOW magazine's Art Issue.