Father, father, man of war

There was once a small kingdom that lay in the high north. For a long time the kingdom had been a nice little butter hole. But now it was under threat, and the Ministry of State came into revolt, for the army had no soldiers. “What do we do?” , asked the Prime Minister. “How do you get people to pull on their shirts when they've been quietly swimming around in soft bathing water for so long?”

Challenges pile up for both those in power and citizens in Denmark when award-winning playwright Christian Lollike focuses on our will to defend ourselves in a highly topical play about armament and security. Indeed, even in Lollike's barely fictional adventure universe, the world has become a troubled place to live, which is why Denmark must urgently arm, train soldiers and buy military hardware worth billions. But gunpowder and bullets are not enough. We must also cultivate the common “we”, so that on the spiritual level we can also face the enemy with an erect forehead. But how good is the Dane at walking the beat when disquiet knocks? Who will we be when war comes? And what are we willing to sacrifice ourselves for?

With his incisive satire of society, Lollike has two years in a row received the Reumert of the Year Award for Best Performance for his plays The School Comedy in 2024 and Jeppe på Bjerget in 2025 at Aarhus Teater.

Dad, dad, war man goes on Denmark tour. Read more here.

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