Subtle Classic Interpretations

Teatret Møllen is an artistic ensemble, run collectively. The artistic directors are Gitte Kath (born 1948) and Ole Sørensen (born 1952). Gitte Kath was trained as a textile designer and poster artist, is a self-taught scenographer and director, and has been affiliated with the theatre since 1975. Ole Sørensen, a self-taught actor and director, joined the theatre in 1979.

Artistic Profile
With a polished idiom, the theatre stages major ethical questions of justice, love and necessity. The performances fuse a visual, artistic approach to the performing arts with a poetic, subtle language, often in new adaptations of classics. Seriousness is counterpointed by situational comedy and well-timed slapstick.

The theatre tells stories – without telling the whole truth.  The audience is invited to create a meaning in the story and form their own opinion about the plot.  House director and scenographer Gitte Kath cuts the expressive tools to the bare minimum. A form that encourages the audience’s own creative imagination.

The theatre arose as an ensemble theatre out of the group theatres of the 1970s. Stories and the community of the theatre experience are still at the centre. The goal is to get the audience to open up and to create a common feeling of closeness.

The theatre mounts productions for children, young people and adults.

Current Productions

Carmen
(2005)
A tale of passion and, especially, jealousy.  Freely adapted from Mérimée’s novel. The performance takes its starting point in the original story by Prosper Mérimée about a naive soldier, Don José, and a hot-blooded and wilful gypsy girl, Carmen, who chooses death over a life of mediocrity without love and passion.  An epic tale in which three men play all the roles – including the female.
Language versions: Danish and English
Age group: 14 years old and up
Max. audience number: 150

Richard III (by William Shakespeare – adapted by Ole Sørensen)
(2003)
Richard III has been adapted into a monologue, using the impish form and content of stand-up comedy to show a man who will use any means to achieve his goal.  He is vicious, clever and funny.  We hate him or we relish in him.  We are privy to his innermost thoughts and plans.  We see how he gradually approaches the throne and power, only to lose it just as he has won it.
Language versions: Danish (with simultaneous English and French subtitles)
Age group: 15 years old and up
Max. audience number: 150

Lennie and George
(2000)
Loosely adapted from John Steinbeck’s minor masterpiece Of Mice and Men. A story that takes two hours to read – and twenty years to forget. A gripping tale of empathy and solidarity, dealing with people, friendship, compassion and great emotions.
Language versions: Danish and English.
Age group: 14 years and up
Max. audience number: 150

Review Extracts

”Raw language, aggressive and violent, combining tenderness and sheer, pure fun as the most important ingredients in this fantastic production from Denmark, presented with English and French subtitles.”
La Presse (Montreal/FR), Lennie and George

“The set is simple, the lighting beautiful, the acting superb. But what is most striking about this show, in the end, is how perfectly the material fits the deepest concerns of the young audience for which it is designed.”
The Scotsman (Edinburgh/UK), Lennie and George

“But what has to be emphasized here is Ole Sørensen’s utterly exceptional performance.  Even in Danish – with simultaneous French subtitles – he is able to reproduce all the horror that this person, this tortured king, inspires.  He IS Richard III!  And, finally, a few words on Gitte Kath’s staging: lively and light-hearted in a way that is almost never done, without compromise.  She literally seduced the teenage audience in Usine C.  We need someone like her … yes.  Now, we’ve said it.”
Le Devoir (Montreal/CA), Richard III

“With a dramatic flair, elegant nuances and a healthy dollop of humour and a wonderfully unorthodox nerve, Ole Sørensen’s adaptation of Richard III draws a psychological portrait of the mechanisms and consequences of self-destruction.”
Århus Stiftstidende (DK), Richard III