UK Premiere of Helmer Hardcore
Jakob Weis was in town for the UK premiere of Helmer Hardcore last week. He stuck around after the show for a little chat led by Dr Claire Thomson, a senior lecturer in Scandinavian Film at University College London. Dr Thomson is a huge fan of Danish dogma and tried to entice Jakob Weis into breaking his vow of silence on his project, Von Trier, Persona Non Grata, an unauthorised biography on the controversial Danish filmmaker. Jakob stood firm though, instead choosing to keep the attention on Helmer Hardcore, a project very close to his heart and in keeping with his works on ‘the modern Danish man.’ Watch this space for more details!
Post-show talk for Helmer Hardcore
The Contract Killer – Podcast
On 12 March 2015, Norvik Press and [Foreign Affairs] officially launched the podcast of The Contract Killer at University College London. A brief extract of the play was performed, with Darren Stamford and Jason Denyer once again assuming the roles of Karlsen and Director Holt. Following the performance, UCL’s Dr Claire Thomson led a discussion between myself and one of the directors of The Contract Killer, Camila França. Benny Andersen’s original, Lejemorderen, featured on Danish and Swedish Radio in 1969 before the English translation, The Contract Killer was published by Norvik Press in 2012.
[Foreign Affairs] have done a brilliant job in producing this podcast, and it’s impossible to overlook the foresight shown by Norvik Press to return Benny Andersen’s radio play to its original audio format. A big thanks to both of them. Enjoy!
My Little Sun Adventure
My Little Sun Adventure is an app for young children, giving them the chance to become a character in the story. By simply nodding or shaking their head, they can choose where the adventure will lead them next.
Author Merete Pryds Helle in London, leading students at University College London on their own little sun adventure. (photo courtesy of Jesper Hansen)
Recollection by Amalie Smith
Asymptote’s January 2015 edition features a selection of poetry taken from Amalie Smith’s Recollection. (I CIVIL in the original Danish)
Amalie Smith was in good company in Asymptote’s Danish Fiction Feature, alongside some of my favourite Danish authors, including Josefine Klougart, Katrine Marie Guldager and Naja Marie Aidt.
Amalie and I have been working on this project for the past year and we are looking forward to finding Recollection a permanent home.
In 2014, The Missing Slate also published this ‘weekend poem’ by Amalie Smith, another extract from Recollection.
