Svend Borberg: The avoided playwright of interwar Denmark

Authors

  • Anna Lawaetz Det Kgl. Bibliotek
  • Ulla Kallenbach Universitetet i Bergen

Keywords:

Svend Borberg, modernism, drama, interwar period, theatre history

Abstract

Svend Borberg (1888-1947) was a key cultural figure in interwar Denmark, regarded as rare innovator of the Danish theatre by his contemporaries. His plays were published and performed in Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. After accusations of collaboration with the Wehrmacht during World War 2, his works have been avoided on stage and selectively and sparsely treated in the existing research. This article examines Borberg’s dramatic works including the contemporary reception of his plays. We stress Borberg’s distinct use of stage directions in an oeuvre, which is unusually heterogeneous, in our analysis of what constitutes his voice as a playwright. We also identify thematic currents in the themes of the mask, identity, spirituality, and free sexual morality.

Author Biographies

Anna Lawaetz, Det Kgl. Bibliotek

Forskningsbibliotekar

Ulla Kallenbach, Universitetet i Bergen

Lektor

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Published

2023-02-27

Issue

Section

Artikler