Ben Hamilton
April 21st, 2022

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This play transforms all moods for the better (photo: Thomas Petri)

A rash of English-language theatre productions are heading to Copenhagen ahead of CPH Stage in early June, starting this Saturday with the opening night of ‘Shirley Valentine’, Willy Russell’s widely acclaimed 1980s one-woman show.

The London Toast Theatre production starring Vivienne McKee will continue until May 14 at Teatret ved Sorte Hest. Book tickets here.

Evening with Dick guaranteed
But if you prefer your monologues to be male rather than female, hang around in the same theatre, as just two days later you will be able to catch ‘Dick’, the latest Tanja Mastilo play for Why Not Theatre Company, from May 16-19.

McKee’s Crazy Christmas Cabaret co-star Andrew Jeffers is the self-deprecating title character reflecting on how his life/sex life has been ruined by the sexual stereotypes he discovered in porn as a youth … and other matters. The play will also be performed at Bådteatret in Nyhavn from May 5-9.

Two more morsels
At the same theatre, you can catch ‘One Woman Show: A Mini Theatre Festival’ – a series of female monologues from April 29-30: ‘COEMA – A Brazilian Fairytale’, ‘CASA’ and ‘The Journey of a Warlike Mind’ (see photo below).

And one day earlier, the Assemble Theatre Collective is presenting another of its ‘pay what you decide’ productions at Literaturhaus.

‘New Name, New You’ stars Aragorn Xavier Nikolei Damgaard under the direction of creator and writer Delia Trice and ATC head Carol Hayes.

Tribute to Stephen Sondheim by new English-language musical group
Finally, we all know English-language musicals are a rarity in Denmark. In recent years the Copenhagen Theatre Circle has staged ‘Cabaret’, and there have been several productions of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ by Teatret Gorgerne, but that’s about it: until now!

A new group, CPH Musical Theater Co, has confirmed it will be staging its first shows at Metronomen in Frederiksberg on May 5 at 18:00 and 20:00: a tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim.

One of the co-founders is CTC chair Rachel Kador and for ‘The Little Things We Do Together: A Tribute Concert for Stephen Sondheim’ she will be joined on stage by David Barrett, Dennisalias Crystallando, Kristian Husted, Alexander Bastian Nielsen and Laurie Richards. Tickets cost 75 kroner.

Danish sculptor: Chinese authorities only have themselves to blame for fame of work
Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt contends that the Chinese authorities have made a huge mistake by removing his work ‘Pillar of Shame’ from outside Hong Kong University last October. Since the removal of the eight-metre sculpture, which was made in 1997 to depict the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 where a great many Chinese students were killed by the authorities, Galschiøt has been inundated with requests for replica versions. “They have made a big mistake,” Galschiøt told Business Insider. “Now, instead of one, they’re getting hundreds of Pillars of Shame.” At his Odense workshop, the 67-year-old is busy producing dozens of replicas and miniatures, roughly 250 and 30 cm in size. A group of former US government officials want to erect a full-size replica in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC. Plans are also afoot to display a statue outside the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. 

Super tall tower at Copenhagen Zoo will offer best views of the region this summer
If you thought the giraffes had the best view at Copenhagen Zoo, then think again. For nearly three months from June 9 until August 28, visitors to the area will be able to climb a 81 metre-high mobile tower located in Søndermarken opposite the main entrance, which will afford them glorious views of the entire city, most of Zealand, the Øresund coast, Malmö and southern Sweden. Located at the top of a hill, the zoo is already located at one of the capital’s highest points, so the ‘Zoo Skyliner’ will tower over the likes of City Hall and Parliament. Almost twice as high as the Zoo Tower, it was originally constructed as a lookout tower used in the fight against poachers in Africa – particularly in regards to the illegal killing of rhinos. Part of the income derived from the tower will support Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa. The Zoo Skyliner has previously visited Stockholm, Vienna, Brussels, Bonn and Luxembourg. It will cost 99 kroner to scale, with discounts available to zoo visitors.

British content streaming platform launching next week
A new streaming platform offering British-produced content is being launched in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland on April 28. BritBox’s content is sourced from both the BBC and ITV, and it will also be available to CMore subscribers. The four Nordic countries are being offered the service in conjunction with four other European countries following a successful reception in Anglophone countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Among the titles making their Danish debuts will be Irvine Welsh adaptation ‘Crime’, ‘The Cleaner’, ‘Stonehouse’, ‘Line of Duty’, ‘The Thief, His Wife, and the Canoe’, ‘Sister Boniface Mysteries’, ‘Anne’, ‘Idris Elba’s Fight School’, ‘Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman’, and ‘The Confessions of Frannie Langton’. The monthly cost in Denmark is 79 kroner or 599 kroner a year.

Four films with Danish input in contention at Cannes
‘Holy Spider’, a Danish-produced film about a serial killer operating in early 1980s Iran, is in contention to win the Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which this year will run from May 17-28. The Persian language film is directed by Iranian-born Ali Abbasi, a graduate of the National Film School of Denmark. It is the first Danish film to compete for the main prize since Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘The Neon Demon’. Meanwhile, ‘Godland’, another Danish-produced film, directed by Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason, is shortlisted in the Un Certain Regard category, while two Swedish films with heavy Danish input, Ruben Östlund’s ‘Triangle of Sadness’ and Tarik Saleh’s ‘Boy from Heaven’, are also in contention for the Palm D’Or. 

The couple who love Lego so much they have filled two homes with their collections
A story is currently doing the rounds about a Danish couple so obsessed with Lego that it provided the main theme of their wedding in the north Zealand town of Frederikssund, where instead of rice, guests threw Lego bricks as they left the ceremony. In total, Line and Jannick own 1,200 sets – 700 and 500 respectively – which they keep at their home in Frederikssund and their summerhouse near Billund, the home of Lego. Check out the video below.

Liv Ullmann to make a week’s worth of appearances at Scandinavia House in New York
A screen legend is heading to New York next month to take part in a number of intimate evenings at the US city’s Scandinavia House. Liv Ullmann, the preferred leading lady of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, will take part in five events between May 23 and 28 that explore her life as an actress, director, writer and humanitarian activist. The Swedish actress was the recipient of an honorary Oscar at last month’s ceremony.