Aleksa Okanovic (b. 1973) studied playwriting at Aarhus Theatre / The Danish National School of Performing Arts. He has been an interpreter at the Danish Refugee Council, played music and theatre and studied philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, and attended the film school in Prague. In 2006 he received a Reumert Talent Award for the plays RESTAURANT D’AMOUR and DIAMOND DUST SHOES, the latter of which was performed at the Schaubühne in Berlin in 2007. In the same year he received the Three-Year Artist Scholarship. In 2010 he became resident playwright at The Royal Court Theatre in London and in 2011 he had another play CONFESSIONS performed at the Schaubühne. In 2025 Okanovic had his play Kool Kool Kina performed in a Norwegian production in Oslo, and he has also been performed at festivals in London and Florence. In 2023 Gyldendal published Okanovic’s controversial novel, Night Terror (Natterædsel), which is about a Nazi family in deep crisis. Okanovic is currently working on a new novel about the Balkan Wars, drawing on his own experiences. As a playwright, Aleksa Okanovic is known for his dark humor and edgy, often violent, style. In the last 5-6 years, his plays have become more political.
Aleksa Okanovic © Nanette Bak Andersen
