Peter Asmussen

Peter Asmussen (b. 1957) author and director. Writes prose and drama for radio, television and stage, as well as film scripts for, among others, Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves) and Simon Staho (Bang Bang Orangutang and Day and Night).  Made his debut as a dramatist in 1989 for Radio Drama and, five years later, with Ungt Blod [Young Blood] in 1993. Followed by Isbrandt [Brûlé par la glace], Værelse med sol [Room with Sun], Forbrydelse [Crime], as well as the libretto for the opera Under himlen [Under the Sky]. Made his debut as a director with the radio drama Schyy in 2002.

Artistic Profile
”Now I’m going to tell you what you are dreaming about.  You are dreaming about a house like this. (...) About being able to move out here and forget the world.  You would like to put it behind you, if you could afford it.”

The line is from Værelse med sol [Room with Sun], in which Asmussen presents the psychic currents in human beings – not their social commitment.  The drama is literally about our urge to seek and reject each other, and this unending movement makes the lines seem like tightly composed libretti. Asmussen ritualizes, so to speak, what is unsaid and unsayable about our existence. 

Asmussen’s worldview takes a bird’s-eye view of people – a critical position that corresponds to that of heaven, to which he unsentimentally makes it clear we have no wings to bear us.  This poetic knowledge permeates his style and makes reviewers hear echoes of Ibsen, Strindberg, Pinter and Beckett.

Asmussen’s drama dissolves the traditional psychological universe, which not only makes the roles fascinating for the actors but also captivates the audience with its surrealistic style.
For the same reason, in the 1990s, Asmussen was one of Denmark’s most productive and produced dramatists both here and abroad.  His prize-winning dramas are performed in northern, eastern and southern Europe.

Current Productions

Om et øjeblik / In a Moment
(2006)
A brutal, bizarre, thoughprovoking and yet funny piece about 5 women's lives. In a patchwork of moments sorrow, tragedy, happiness, banal ups and downs and absurd incidents from ordinary persons' extraordinary life. 
Performed at Betty Nansen Teatret / EDISON

Forbrydelse / Crime
(2003)
It ends with a crime, when we enter into the marginal areas of our regimented lives.  A series of interrogations throws light on three vicious crimes. 
Performed in 2004 at Turbinehallerne, The Danish Royal Theatre

Værelse med sol / Room with Sun / Chambre avec Soleil
(1997)
A longing for the good life unfolds in these three one-act plays.  They each contain a traditional presentation of a couple and a portrait of four characters from 1920 to 2020. Bitter tones reproduced with absurd humour and unsentimental detachment.
Performed, among other places, at Théâtre 14, Paris, 2000 and Pärnu Theatre, Estonia, 2005

Review Extracts

”You are almost proud that new Danish drama can be so difficult and so gifted at the same time, when you even feel empathy in a bastard like Raphael.”
Politiken (DK), Forbrydelse

International Cooperation
Sweden: Colombine Förlag, agent Berit Gullberg, www.colombine.se
France: L´Arche, Paris, contact: Ms. Katharina von Bismarck www.arche-editeur.com
Italy:  Zachar International, Milan, www.zachar.it
Germany: Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, www.fischerverlage.de

Translated Plays
Isbrandt [Brûlé par la glace], Les Solitaires Intempestifs 1998 - www.solitairesintempestifs.com
Collected plays Studi per esseri umani [Sangue giovane, Bruciati dal ghiaccio, Stanza con sole, Crimine], Editoria & Spettacolo 2005 - www.editoriaespettacolo.it
Stranden [The Beach], Oberon Modern Plays 2005 -  www.oberonbooks.com/frameset.htm