In 2017, Meg Matich approached the theater production group Huldufugl with the kernel of an idea: she wanted to bring The Poetry Brothel, an immersive poetry cabaret, to Reykjavik. Matich and two co-founders managed a cast of 70+ from all disciplines, including music and dance, poetry and portraiture, tarot and mind-reading. (And, of course, guest services, security, and marketing).
With Huldufugl productions, the Poetry Brothel Reykjavik grew into Rauða Skáldahúsið (literally: The Red House of Poets), a playful nod toward the 'red' light we keep in our window.
The project of Rauða Skáldahúsið is to transform poetry into an interactive, immersive experience. It uses the trope of the brothel to facilitate the sale of private poetry readings by poets who play specific characters. And with it all come roaring jazz, burlesque, magic, witchery, and live sketching.
Video: Steinn Thorkelsson
Unnur María Máney Bergsveinsdóttir, starring as Ungfru Hringana/Miss Encircled in our March 2018 performance.
“Thank you for inviting me to the Poetry Brothel. It’s an incredible reminder of why I began to write in the first place — in order to be in such wonderful fellowship, where all streams of thought and heart and body can...flow forth.”