Johanne Petrine Reynberg: The clash with the Hollywood model
Playwright Johanne Petrine Reynberg talks about how many modern works challenge classic narratives.
Photo: Martin Dam
The new dramatic tales
Drama is primarily about stories - also called narratives. Most often, the classic plays are built according to what is called the "Hollywood model". In these stories, one works towards a central conflict in the play, which ends in a redemption.
Johanne Petrine Reynberg points out that the dramatic works she has selected do away with the classic Hollywood model and find new ways to tell stories and create drama. The plays are based on topics that are highly relevant in modern society, for example gender, grief and mental health.
I think that drama invites one to join in a game. That you have to use your imagination when you read it. And I think that a good way to read drama is not only to read it yourself, but also to read it aloud together with several people.
The dramatic book club
Plays should not only be seen and experienced, but also read, because they are literary works in their own right. Johanne Petrine Reynberg also sees great potential in new forms of book clubs with the library's new access to unpublished Danish drama.
Just as you can read and discuss novels in book clubs, there can be an advantage in having more readers delve into new Danish drama. Partly because the works can be more difficult to read than, for example, novels, and partly because together with other readers you can get further into the interpretation of the many layers that dramatic works often have.
Johanne Petrine Reynberg recommends
- Jeg er Spartacus by Anna Bro (I Am Spartacus)
- Jell-o Shot by Sonja Ferdinand
- Finn og de fem fajl by Magnus Iuel Berg (Finn and the Five Flaws)
- Mombie by Jeanette Munzert
- 16:29 by Anna Malzer
About Johanne Petrine Reynberg
Johanne Petrine Reynberg graduated as a dramatist from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in 2021 and also works as a dramaturg. Together with playwright Josephine Eusebius, she has started The Dramatic Book Club in Teaterhuset, Copenhagen.