June 18th, 2023

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The day is finally approaching when Ian can finally bellow: “This is I, Ian, the Dane (photo: Christian Wenande)

Last May, I successfully passed all the exams needed to be able to become a Danish citizen and get myself a Danish passport. 

I am still waiting to be called in to formally shake the hand of the mayor of København. Covid has caused the delay apparently, but one fine day in the not-too-far-distant future, I’ll be a proud citizen of this fine nation. 

Life can be beautiful
I have a lot to look forward to over the next few months. Since June 1, Netflix has started streaming ‘A Beautiful Life’ – a film directed by Mehdi Avaz and starring Christopher Lund Nissen and yours truly. The estimated audience for this could be 200 million.

I’m hoping that this and the other Danish/Scandinavian films and TV productions I’ve recorded recently, but yet to be seen in, will spawn more film and TV work for yours truly. 

I am naively optimistic that they will. 

Nothing lasts forever

I sincerely hope so because I’ve decided to only produce one theatre production a year under the banner of That Theatre Company from now on – simply because at the tender age of 66, I find producing two productions a year too demanding. 

I am on the lookout for another space in Copenhagen away from Krudttønden where I have played twice a year for 27 seasons, so if you have any ideas, please write to me at pr@that-theatre.com

We are also looking to tour our acclaimed production of ‘The Visit’ – a take on HC Andersen’s five-week ‘weekend’ at the home of Charles Dickens. Any recommendations are most welcome – same address as above. 

In the magical venue that is The Botanical Gardens in the middle of the city In August, I’ll be playing Leonato, Governor of Messina in Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. After Hours Theatre has been invited back after its success with ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, and I’m delighted to be joining them once again. 

Mikkelsen and Burns
I’ll soon be treading the boards with the one and only Lars Mikkelsen, an actor I have always admired and who needs no introduction to Danish audiences, or indeed internationally thanks to his work in ‘Sherlock’ and ‘House of Cards’. 

We have been saying that we should do something together for years, and now we have the chance to do just that with ‘The Dumb Waiter’ by Harold Pinter. 

Pinter, in my opinion, is probably the most important British playwright since Shakespeare, and we can’t wait to get started. 

We will be playing at the 100-seat theatre Krudttønden from September 27 until October 21. Tickets are available at teaterbilletter.dk, and I hope you will be able to come along and see it.