Danish drama for everyone

On the occasion of Danish drama becoming available to all Danish users, we have conducted a series of interviews with Danish dramatists and researchers providing inspiration and recommendations.

Royal Danish Library has an extensive collection of Danish drama. However, many of the works have never been published. This means that a great many of the plays that have been performed on Danish theatre stages over the past 300 years have only been performed a few times, and the general population has not had the access to read the plays.

But with a new agreement license, you can now read unpublished Danish dramatic works digitally and completely free of charge through the library.

Access to unpublished Danish drama is for everyone, whether you work in theatre, are a teacher, research theatre history or simply want to delve into your favourite play. The dramatic works range from comedies and vaudevilles to tragedies and political dramas.

Experience playwrights and theatre researchers talk about the history and importance of drama

Anna Lawaetz: The beginning of Danish drama

The theatre collection at the Royal Danish Library was established to ensure access to Danish drama. The library's collection contains some of the oldest preserved performed unpublished plays.

Jokum Rohde: The theatre line

Playwright Jokum Rohde talks about the relationship between the character's lines and their hidden intentions as the central engine of the drama.

Jesper Bræstrup Karlsen: The art of writing children's youth drama

Denmark's biggest theatrical export is children's theatre. Jesper Bræstrup Karlsen talks about the movement from the dramatist-less group theatre in the 1960s to the establishment of a education.

Line Knutzon: On everything between the lines

Dramatist Line Knutzon gives good advice on how to read drama, and she dreams of drama becoming a permanent part of the curriculum in primary school.

Andreas Garfield: On creating drama

Playwright Andreas Garfield talks about drama as a genre and the considerations he makes when writing a play.

Anna Bro: Study of the times

Dramatists can put today's big questions under debate. Playwright Anna Bro talks about works that focus sharply on our present.

Solveig Gade: Exploring identities

Playwright and researcher Solveig Gade recommends a number of recent dramatic works, all of which address current and realistic issues.

Johanne Petrine Reynberg: The clash with the Hollywood model

Playwright Johanne Petrine Reynberg talks about how many modern works challenge classic narratives.

Ulla Kallenbach: The role of women in Danish drama

Theatre researcher Ulla Kallenbach talks about the female playwrights who gave the link between the public and private spheres in the theatre a new voice in the 1800s and early 1900s.

NB

Please note that TV dramas and radio dramas are currently not covered by the library's agreement license for making Danish drama available.

Foreign dramas with active rights (70 years from death) and music dramas are not included in the agreement. As a researcher, it is possible to be provided with data sets for research.