sat 16/11/2024

Saga's odours, Sara's jumpers, Birgitte's bloke | reviews, news & interviews

Saga's odours, Sara's jumpers, Birgitte's bloke

Saga's odours, Sara's jumpers, Birgitte's bloke

The second star-packed Nordicana weekend will give Scandy fans to ask all the important questions about Nordic drama

'Borgen's' Sidse Babett Knudsen ponders a question from the audience at last year's inaugural Nordicana event

How come there is always a free parking space right outside the police station’s front door as Saga Norén draws up? If she has malodourous armpits, what must her manky leather trousers smell like? What does her partner in investigation Martin Rohde do to distract himself from her personal hygiene issues? Wouldn’t he do better to downsize his expensive car and use the money saved on renting an apartment rather than kipping in a hotel?

All burning questions raised by the second series of the Danish-Swedish co-production The Bridge, currently being aired by BBC Four.

It was the same with the recent, third and final series of Borgen. How on earth did Kasper Juul’s shaved head so quickly sprout fresh hair? What did Birgitte Nyborg see in the drippy Brit charisma-vacuum Jeremy Welsh? Chances to get answers to all these and more come over the first weekend of February at the second Nordicana event, to be held on 1 and 2 February at Old Truman Brewery, along Brick Lane in east London.

Over the two days, Sofia Helin (who plays Saga Norén) and Kim Bodnia (Martin Rohde) of The Bridge, Sidse Babett Knudsen (Birgitte Nyborg) and Pilou Asbæk (Kasper Juul) will be joined by Borgen’s creator (and theartsdesk interviewee) Adam Price and its producer Camilla Hammerich, as well Marie Askehave (The Killing and Borgen). All will interviewed on stage and take part in Q&As. There’s even a chance to watch the broadcast of The Bridge’s last two episodes in the company of Bodnia and Helin. If that weren’t enough, Wallander’s Krister Henriksson (Kurt Wallander himself) and Charlotta Jonsson are also coming to Brick Lane.

The event also features British premieres of the Norwegian thriller Pioneer and the Danish urban crime film Northwest. The directors will be in attendance to take questions. Author Arne Dahl is along for the fun, and there also signings, a bake-off to make the best cinnamon bun, a Nordic marketplace and food and drink.

After this essential weekend, it’ll be fascinating to see whether the cosmopolitan Brick Lane retains a Scandinavian flavour. Tandoori herring anyone?

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters