2026 – Dorph/Taylor // Recidency Teater S/H
An Erotic and Musical Horror Story About Devilish Businessmen
THE BOOK OF THE DEVIL is a musical dramatization of Asta Olivia Nordenhof’s critically acclaimed 2023 novel. A dark, sensual story about desire, power, and love under capitalism.
The performance explores Olivia, a young woman who pushes boundaries, as she moves into a penthouse apartment with a mysterious, wealthy man. There, she begins to tell the story of her dangerous and erotic encounter with someone she is convinced was the devil. Money, sex, and care become intertwined, and as she insists on maintaining control and emotional distance, it gradually becomes unclear who is really in charge. Could it be the devil lurking inside us all?
The devil is a mask, a state of being, a way of life in which pleasure seems limitless and everything comes at a price. There is a kind of freedom in surrendering yourself, being extravagant, and going too far. Because it feels good to be tempted into ruin.
We want to paint the devil on the wall and play with the devil as the classic symbol of evil – the thing simmering inside men, inside Olivia, and, not least, inside ourselves. How do we try to drive it out, and is that even what we want?
Nordenhof’s uncompromising language, where humor and brutality exist side by side, is brought to life through two actors playing with control and desire. They are joined by one of Denmark’s most prominent live bands, SPDS, who create a high-intensity electronic punk universe that propels the performance forward like a pulsing nervous system.
Following on from our previous production, SOLAR, we work with music as a dramatic voice—one that can paint pictures, enter into dialogue, and fill the space with epic sound. At the same time, a stripped-back, tactile stage environment exposes the interior: the body, desire, violence, and the place where control begins to crack, allowing longing, anxiety, and loneliness to push their way in.
THE BOOK OF THE DEVIL becomes a grand, cross-disciplinary theatrical experience for anyone drawn to theatre, literature, or simply a wild concert. We entertain and challenge the audience while also asking the question:
Are the devil’s temptations something we fear – or something we long for?
Annika Taylor 