Ian Burns is a renowned name in English-language theatre in Denmark. For 27 years, he has run the successful Copenhagen-based company That Theatre. After earlier stints in London and Paris, the Scottish actor, producer and director has now lived in the Danish capital for 33 years – precisely half of his lifetime.
I settled in Denmark because …I wanted to work in English-speaking theatres around Europe. So I sent out my CV and the first that responded was a small company called The Mermaid Theater in Copenhagen. But that is not the reason I stayed. I stayed because in August 1990 after being turned around trying to find my way, I saw this Danish girl and then the crazy happened. Now we’re married and have two kids together.
My favourite thing about living in Copenhagen is … that the city is built on a human scale. It’s very accessible. For example, houses can’t go up above five floors, except churches or sometimes hotels but otherwise, that keeps it on a human scale.
Here in Copenhagen I never get used to … to those long winter days, where it’s just grey from morning til evening.
On an integration scale of 1 to 10 I would say I’m … a 9. I mean, I’ve been in Denmark for half of my life so yes, I would say that I am very integrated. I actually passed my Danish exams last June. Even though I perform in English, I’ve got loads of Danish friends.
Jeg kan tale … godt dansk. It took me three years to learn how to really speak Danish. But I think the first step is figuring out where the word starts and where it ends, because it’s sort of a flat language. But I listened a lot to the radio to try to crack it and it worked.
My favourite observation about the Danes is… their education system, it’s just so good. I really think the Scandinavian education system is a system that works. I think it is above and beyond what England can offer. The standard of education, the standard of teaching, really impresses me
The three words that I think best describe Copenhagen are … Clean, accessible and, at least during the summer, vibrant.
