From Child Prodigy to Master of Genres

Peter Langdal (born 1957) director and theatre manager. Début as director in 1983 with Plush and Plastic. Since 1992, has shared management (with Henrik Hartmann) of the Betty Nansen Theatre, Copenhagen

Artist Profile
Peter Langdal’s final project at The Danish National Theatre School (a dramatization of Tom Kristensen’s novel The Arabesque of Life) jump-started Peter Langdal´s theatrical career. During the early years of his spectacular oeuvre, the name Langdal was invariably linked in critics’ praise with phrases such as ´child prodigy’, ´playful´ and ´turns everything upside down´. But so much more was soon to come and sweep away audience and critics alike. Both national and international dramatists underwent the Langdal treatment and came out not only revitalised, but revisualised in the mind. Highlights include A Winter´s Tale, Hamlet, Killer Joe (Tracy Lett), Copenhagen (Michael Frayn), When We Dead Awaken, The Misanthrope (all female cast) and The Dance of Death.

Denmark’s Scandinavian neighbours have been swift to import his remarkable capacity for eye-opening versions and provided space for his productions of classics like Shakespeare, Chekhov and Holberg.  

At an early point in choosing his profession, Peter Langdal wavered between musician and theatre director. Langdal first explored this double talent in the musical genre in 1988, moved on to opera two years later in The Abduction from the Seraglio, sparkled in Svejk and mounted 2005´s grand scale musical The One and Only (derived from a Danish film success), and has recently debuted at the new Copenhagen Opera House with Strauss´ operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat).

Throughout his almost 25 years in Danish Theatre, Langdal has preferred to collaborate with a fixed number of artistic colleagues – from in-house scenographer Karin Betz, to actors and to dramatists – such as Per Olov Enquist. Langdal has also worked as theatre manager with overseas brothers-in-art Robert Wilson and Tom Waits.

Current Productions

The Bat, The Royal Theatre/ Holmen Opera, 2005
The Dance of Death, Betty Nansen Theatre/Edison, 2004 
The Misanthrope, Betty Nansen Theatre, 2002       
When We Dead Awaken, Betty Nansen Theatre, 2002

Reviews Extracts

“Peter Langdal’s production of The Dance of Death captures the art of being perfectly faithful to Strindberg’s period … and, at the same time, seeming to be perfectly contemporary.  I have never seen Strindberg’s loathing of love so lovingly reproduced as here.  Or so well.” 
Jyllands-Posten (DK), The Dance of Death

”The simple mastery with which they manoeuvre around in Molière’s hexameters gives you the sense of a rare and momentous coincidence of talent on the stage … from first to last, the performance is a powerful defence of theatre.  Of its ability to use its entire historical magnitude to be thumpingly modern ...”
Politiken (DK), The Misanthrope

”Ibsen Redivivus: Peter Langdal’s excellent staging of When We Dead Awaken is simply a miracle ... A tremendous effort, a difficult text miraculously realized.  Ibsen is still alive and kicking."
Information (DK), When We Dead Awaken
 

International Collaboration
Dramaten, Stockholm, www.dramaten.se 
Per-Olov Enquist, Stockholm, www.info@norstedts.se
The National Theatre, Oslo, www.nationaltheatret.no