Sonja Mills
The Danish Play's relevance has soared since 2002 debut.
Modern theatre history is repeating itself, in the 2007 remount of The Danish Play at Toronto's Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
In honour of International Women's Day, March 8, here's Part One of a four part series about playwright Sonja Mills, her attitude toward independent theatre and her own creative process, her admiration for actress Kate Hennig who plays the title role, and her timeless respect for her great aunt Agnete Ottosen - inspiration for The Danish Play.
Sonja Mills like Agnete Ottosen, is not one to take anything at face value especially in today's turbulent society. She wants everyone to question authority, ask WHY about everything, which makes Mills' story of Agnete Ottosen more timely than ever.
In 2002, this caustic creator of Toronto cult soap opera hit Dyke City, chronicled Agnete Ottosen's life through The Danish Play introducing audiences to the complex world of her great aunt - a famed Danish Resistance fighter and poet. After its premiere run at Nightwood Theatre, The Danish Play became a critical darling touring successfully across Canada and to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Structured as a non-linear memory play, the story begins on Christmas Eve in Denmark,1962 with Ottosen’s friends drinking their annual traditional toast to Resistance days as they unravel landmark events in their lives - pre-war escapades, concentration camp horrors, Resistance missions- now all dealing with post war life as they remember their friend Agnete Ottosen. Mills has crafted a haunting story of the human spirit, endurance and the will to survive - be it fighting for national freedom or one’s own.
Agnete's (pronounced Ow-Nay-Da) story and rebellious streak began when she was very young.
"Agnete was basically abandoned by her father, so that can certainly lead to it," says Mills. "But I think there are just some women just born before their time – women born before women could vote who should have been running the country, right? Agnete was one of them. She organized the strike at the (tobacco) factory she worked at because women were not being paid properly or treated properly and they were getting more money and it didn’t make any sense to her. There was a union in place at the time but the union didn’t speak for women, so that didn’t make sense."
What struck you most about Agnete?
"The thing about her spirit I guess that really struck me, and that I really wanted to put across in the play was her unwillingness to do what she was told. I really hope that questioning authority is something that we really start to do in the future – not just say it – not just have it be a cute little thing to have on a button on a jacket. I hope we will start to ask the important questions – why do we have to do it that way? Why do we have to be at war in Afghanistan – I know we are there in battle in ways that we didn’t know was going to happen. But Agnete - she refused to sign the papers, she refused to name the father of her child – her friend says put candles in the window and she says WHY do I have to? "
The Danish Play continues at Toronto's Young Centre for The Performing Arts to March 17.
