Meeting Nikolaj was an eye-opener and a turning point in my life (and still is). Suddenly, here was someone who took theatre and the actor’s work seriously — in a way I had never experienced before.
After one of our performances with the group, a former actor colleague came up to me and said: ‘I was completely captivated. I never knew what your next reaction would be. I followed you the whole way through, because you were so honest on stage that it hit me deeply. I kept recognizing myself in what you expressed — and that was almost too much. I have huge respect for the group’s work, but I don’t think I’d dare to go into that kind of process myself.
’And to that, I could only say: Yes, it is intense — but isn’t that exactly what we want theatre to be? We do this because we have something to say, and we simply can’t not do it. So let’s take it seriously and invest ourselves. Doing something wholeheartedly gives energy and joy in return.

Maja Juhlin

Read Maja’s succes story –
Working with Nikolaj PapaDuke: Freedom for the Actor – Gripping Presence for the Audience here

My acquaintance with Nikolaj PapaDuke comes from his work with a group of first-year students here at the school. He had been invited to work with the group through improvisation, and he fulfilled this task in the most beautiful way.
His work reflected a deep understanding of the actor’s nature, and he fully succeeded in helping the students expand their own boundaries.
He carries a quiet but clear authority in the teaching space. To be wise about people and possess a fine sense of humor — those are surely among the best qualities one can hope for in a teacher. Nikolaj PapaDuke clearly belongs in that category, and I hereby give him my warmest recommendation.

Lars Junggreen

Working with Nikolaj PapaDuke means staying curious — about yourself, your art, and the world — and asking open and expanding questions filled with wonder. It’s about unlearning fixed forms, dogmas, and preconceived ideas — both within yourself and in your surroundings.
It’s about being courageous and sharply attentive — to the degree that brings you into contact with your deepest self, the source of all originality.
It’s challenging and exciting. Always with unpredictability and originality in sight — in life, as on stage.
It’s about daring to meet yourself.
And daring to use what you meet.
Because that’s where the truth is always found. The real life. The thing that moves. That shakes. That surprises. On stage. Between the actors. And hopefully, all the way out to — and into — the audience.

Charlotte Munck

Nikolaj is truly unique in his field. He’s a director with deep insight into human relationships — and he knows how to apply that understanding constructively in the creative process. In the two productions I’ve done with him so far, I’ve experienced just how powerful it is for the audience when you step onto the stage without any intention of pleasing them. Without any “necessary” arrangements, like: Now I’ll walk over there, then sit on the chair, pick up the glass, drop it, and feel sad. Instead, I feel free as an actor — trusting that my body and intuition know best.
From the audience’s reaction, I can tell they’re not used to this kind of theatre. It’s like putting a child and a dog on stage together. What’s going to happen? That sense of unpredictability is, to me, a hallmark of Nikolaj’s process: working from the idea that the audience should feel present in the theatre as if they were at a football match, with the result swinging back and forth. They’re surprised by what’s happening — because the actors are also surprising themselves and each other.

Peter Christoffersen

It looked like a bad sketch show on TV — and five minutes into Nikolaj’s suggestion, it turned into a Bergman film.

Pia Hessner

I really appreciated our collaboration, and your contribution was a great help to me — both in terms of receiving feedback on my own interaction with the actors, and in how you were able to nurture the individual actors’ performances during the final phase, when I was incredibly busy.
It’s my impression that your work made a significant impact on several of the actors’ performances. You have a sharp eye, strong skills, and a highly developed technique — all of which are of great value to a director type like myself.

Kasper Bech Holten

With great insight into the actor’s working conditions, he manages to dissolve the barriers and tensions that inevitably arise when working with a text. His suggestions and exercises are practical, concrete tools that help bring the work on stage to life.

Lars Lippert

A huge thank you for a bold and fantastic performance — funny, unsettling, and brilliant. Well done! Big praise to everyone. Bravo for true presence on stage!

Per Sheel-Krüger

Nikolaj PapaDuke is a very pleasant, sensitive, and intuitive person to work with. The training process with him made me reflect on my own way of working — which is a good thing. As for the physical exercises, I can only say that I truly enjoyed them! I consider myself a physical performer, and I immediately feel more ready and connected to my emotions when the “instrument” is warmed up. I’ve really enjoyed working with Nikolaj.

Jens Bo Jørgensen

An absolutely fantastic course and training! If you want to find yourself as an actor (again), be truthful and convincing on stage, discover strength and confidence in what you do, manage emotions in a scene, find the right spontaneous timing and impulses, and overall become better actors — then this is a course/training program I highly recommend.

Anna Tulestedt

All the hours of Eutony, Alexander Technique, and physiodramatics at the National Theatre School couldn’t do for my body what I achieved after just a few sessions with Nikolaj. After half a year of training with him, I have gained greater flexibility, strength, and have become a better actor because I understand my emotions better.
Nikolaj PapaDuke is one of Denmark’s most competent teachers in physical training for actors because he combines the physical with the emotional, creating a holistic approach.
My understanding of my body only became complete when I began to notice the emotions connected to each of my physical actions — and through that, I made much more progress in my physical work.

Henrik Kryschanoffsky

Nikolaj gave me a completely new perspective on theatre warm-up with his unique exercises. His program was indispensable both before and during my auditions, and it has remained a major part of my preparation ever since. Thank you so much!

Jakob Randrup

The depth and detail you bring to the actor’s process is unlike anything I’ve seen in this country. Actors here simply aren’t used to receiving that much attention.

Anni Bjørn

It doesn’t take long before we realize this is raw, uncompromising theatre — dramatic art, not flashy entertainment. The form becomes a curiosity — an interesting and striking experience, directed by Nikolaj PapaDuke, with a fine sense for the tone and potential of chamber drama in an everyday-naturalistic setting.”

Randers Amtsavis

This past week I’ve been lucky to see two productions featuring actors performing in a wildly realistic, strangely personal, and intimately close way. One of them was ‘What the Night Is For’ at Teatret Får302, directed by N. PapaDuke.

Anne Middelboe Christensen, Information

… director Nikolaj PapaDuke has drawn out outstanding, highly watchable performances from the actors… Rarely have I witnessed acting that feels this vibrantly alive and authentically present — a heightened realism charged with readiness.

 Jakob Steen Olsen, Berlingske

A proper dose of emotional endurance training for the audience — this intimate chamber piece is a true tour de force.

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