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.

Date: October 18, 2026 - December 21, 2026
Genre: Theatre
Taal: Dutch
Surtitles: Available at one or more shows
Location: Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam

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

Sunday, October 18

Try-out

19:30 - NNB

Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Grote Zaal

Zone vrije plaatskeuze

€28.50

Order tickets

Monday, October 19

Try-out

19:30 - NNB

Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Grote Zaal

Zone vrije plaatskeuze

€28.50

Order tickets

Tuesday, October 20

Premiere

19:30 - NNB

Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Grote Zaal

Zone 5

€14.50

Zone 4

€31.00

Zone 3

€37.00

Zone 2

€42.50

Zone 1

€45.50

Zone 1+

€49.00

Last tickets

Wednesday, October 21

19:30 - NNB

Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Grote Zaal

Zone 5

€14.50

Zone 4

€31.00

Zone 3

€37.00

Zone 2

€42.50

Zone 1

€45.50

Zone 1+

€49.00

Order tickets

Sunday, October 25

15:00 - NNB

Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam - Grote Zaal

Zone 5

€14.50

Zone 4

€31.00

Zone 3

€37.00

Zone 2

€42.50

Zone 1

€45.50

Zone 1+

€49.00

Last tickets

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.”

Cast

Chris Nietvelt

June Yanez

Maria Kraakman

Marieke Heebink

Minne Koole

Sanne den Hartogh

Dim Koning

Peter Bolhuis

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.

"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