© Marwan Magroun
The Copenhagen Trilogy
Dec 8 -
Dec 21
ITA / Eline Arbo
The Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen (1917–1976) was boundless. Her autobiographical novels Childhood, Youth and Dependency are sharp, raw and intensely personal. These three masterpieces – the highlights of her oeuvre – now come together in one performance: The Copenhagen Trilogy. Directed by Eline Arbo and performed by, among others, Maria Kraakman, The Copenhagen Trilogy is a production about class mobility, womanhood, artistry, passion, love and self‑destruction.
‘Director Eline Arbo transforms writer Tove Ditlevsen’s story into a magical performance’ – De Volkskrant ★★★★★
- Date
- October 18, 2026 - December 21, 2026
- Duration
- 210 min, interval included
- Genre
- Theatre
- Language
- Dutch
- Surtitles
- Available at one or more shows
- Location
- Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam
- Triggerwarning
- This performance contains scenes depicting and references to addiction, abortion, drug use, sexual violence, mental health crises, and suicide.
The Copenhagen Trilogy shows the painfully honest story of Tove Ditlevsen: an unflinching writer who became famous for her deeply personal, masterful novels about her own life. The life of a girl growing up in a poor neighbourhood in Copenhagen, with ambitions far greater than her background seemed to allow. And later, the life of a public figure pushing at the boundaries of her time and facing constant criticism from a society not ready for her voice – for her perseverance, her willingness to swim against the current, and her uncompromising insistence on forging her own path.
At the same time, her insatiable hunger for life pulls her towards the darker sides of being human. Throughout her adult life, Tove struggles with addiction and her mental health. Her longing for individuality, for love, for becoming someone, slowly transforms her into a person she no longer recognises. Her longing and her fame ultimately become her downfall.
Tove Ditlevsen was a mother, a wife, a writer and an addict. As dangerous as she was brilliant. She was an insecure doubter and a shameless boor. She was painfully honest. Tove Ditlevsen was a radical artist.
Tickets and times
Tuesday, December 8
19:30 - 23:00
Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Rabozaal
Zone 3
€31.00
Zone 2
€42.50
Zone 1
€45.50
Zone 1+
€49.00
Wednesday, December 9
19:30 - 23:00
Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Rabozaal
Zone 3
€31.00
Zone 2
€42.50
Zone 1
€45.50
Zone 1+
€49.00
Thursday, December 10
19:30 - 23:00
Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Rabozaal
English surtitles
Zone 3
€31.00
Zone 2
€42.50
Zone 1
€45.50
Zone 1+
€49.00
Friday, December 11
19:30 - 23:00
Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Rabozaal
Zone 3
€31.00
Zone 2
€42.50
Zone 1
€45.50
Zone 1+
€49.00
Monday, December 14
19:30 - 23:00
Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Rabozaal
Zone 3
€31.00
Zone 2
€42.50
Zone 1
€45.50
Zone 1+
€49.00
Original songs
For The Copenhagen Trilogy, Thijs van Vuure composed and wrote 10 new songs, based on poems by Tove Ditlevsen. You’ll hear them all in the performance.
- Flickering lights
- Winter's night
- Unborn
- Confusion
- She's not me
- Immoral song
- Recognition
- And it was a night like this
- Depression
- I'm yours
Roel Van Berckelaer
Reviews
Roel Van Berckelaer
Roel Van Berckelaer
Eline Arbo about the Copenhagen Trilogy
“I grew up with the work of Tove Ditlevsen, introduced to it by my mother. Her novels and her life continue to inspire me. Ditlevsen is the protagonist in her own story, constantly walking the line between fiction and reality. She is her own muse and her greatest enemy. That’s why her work is perfect material for theatre, where I also blur the boundaries between fiction and reality and search for moments where the political and personal collide and strengthen each other.”
Fee Golin
Cast
© Marwan Magroun
June Yanez
© Marwan Magroun
Maria Kraakman
© Marwan Magroun
Marieke Heebink
© Marwan Magroun
Minne Koole
© Marwan Magroun
Sanne den Hartogh
© Rhodé Gerrits
Dim Koning
Tote Ditlevsen
Feminist avant la lettre
The work of Danish writer Tove Ditlevsen is once again remarkably popular in 2026. Her honest and direct style – poetic yet vividly descriptive – resonates with a generation that values open conversations about mental health and the authenticity of lived experience. In her writing, she gives powerful expression to female experiences and perspectives. She wrote about motherhood, artistic creation, marriage, and the tension between personal ambition and imposed expectations. Raving reviews of the English translation of The Copenhagen Trilogy in The New York Times and The Guardian granted Ditlevsen international cult status.
Behind the scenes during the rehearsals
Take a look inside the rehearsal studio. We spoke with director Eline Arbo and actor Maria Kraakman during rehearsals about what moves them in the work of Tove Ditlevsen.
Fee Golin
Dive deeper
Erik Petersen
Roel Van Berckelaer
"I recognise her nerve, her intensity, her shamelessness. She was a radical woman whose voice still resonates generations after her death. Everyone should read her books."
Eline Arbo about Tove Ditlevsen
Fee Golin
Fee Golin
113 Suicide prevention
If you feel the need to talk after the performance, you can always contact the 113 Suicide prevention. You can call (113) or chat.
Artistic credits
by
Tove Ditlevsen
adaptation
Eline Arbo and Peter van Kraaij
directed by
Eline Arbo
translator
Lammie Post-Oostenbrink
composition and music direction
Thijs van Vuure
scenographer
Pascal Leboucq
costume design
Rebekka Wörmann
lighting design
Varja Klosse
dramaturgy
Rinke Brans
choreography
Felix Schellekens
acting
Chris Nietvelt, June Yanez, Maria Kraakman, Marieke Heebink, Minne Koole, Sanne den Hartogh, Dim Koning, Peter Bolhuis
private producers
Jeroen van Ingen & Jaap Kooijman, Bertil van Kaam & Felix van der Heijden, Tineke Boersma & Frans Eusman, Paul Veerman & Marijke van der Duin
this production is supported by
Ammodo Art and the Hartwig Foundation
Premiere credits
assistant director
Emma Deleu, Britney Achampong (intern), Esmée Voskamp (intern)
assistant dramaturgy
Claartje de Loor (intern)
assistant set design
Roel van Berckelaer
assistant composition
Josephine Godschalk (intern)
assistant costume
Jelena Bondt, Anna-Gloria Diaz Elizarde (intern)
production
Inge Zeilinga
assistant production
Merel de Vroome, Suze Commandeur (intern)
technical production
Joris Reijmer
first stage manager
Stijn van der Leeuw
technical team
Quirijn van der Baan, Pepijn van Beek, Kevin Decker, Jonathan Salas Guerrero, Danne Hekman, Rinse de Jong, Timo Merkies, Dennis van Scheppingen, Bo Teng, Thijs Veerman
costume department
Farida Bouhbouh, Wim van Vliet
dresser
Sytske van Koeveringe
hair & make-up
David Verswijveren
intimacy coordinator
Zarah Bracht
surtitles
Jasmijn Ooms
marketing & communication
Iris Istha
This production is supported by
