SusseWold
Susse Wold changed the way we see women in ‘My Fair Lady’. Through her refined and uninhibited interpretation of Mrs. Higgins, she gave the character a feminist force and a radiant, triumphant smile that coloured the entire production.
Susse Wold is one of Denmark's most beloved actors. She graduated from the Private Theatres' Acting School in 1960 and has since performed roles at the Royal Danish Theatre and other major stages. On screen she has appeared in everything from 'Sommer i Tyrol' to 'Jagten', and on television from 'Matador' to 'Ansigterne'.
She has performed extensively at Det Ny Teater, which her late husband Bent Mejding helped to reopen. They performed together in 'Kærestebreve' in 2017, what was to be Susse's final theatre appearance, before she returned to the stage in 2026 in 'My Fair Lady'.
She has also toured the world with refined readings of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, and was a seductive Gitte Graa in 'Matador' and the protective nursery school teacher in Thomas Vinterberg's 'Jagten'.
This season, the now 87-year-old Susse caught everyone off guard with her feminist interpretation of Mrs. Higgins in 'My Fair Lady' at Det Ny Teater.
Her approach to life is defined by curiosity. "Even though I am old, I still want to learn something new," she says. "It is absolutely wonderful to be back in the creative work of the theatre."
With a clear vision for the role, she explains: "I don't think Mrs. Higgins is particularly interested in horse racing. I think she is more interested in looking at the handsome men she meets there. So I suggested that she paints, and that she uses her chauffeur as a nude model."
For Susse, it is a special honour to receive the Harlequin Performing Arts Prize. "If I were to wish for a prize, it would be Henrik Lyding's. If anyone knew anything about theatre, it was him," she says. "As a critic, he was never condescending towards actors. He was always fair, and he was funny."
The future is not something she worries about. "I want to be in the present," she declares. "Not in the past and not in the future. That is why I love the theatre. It happens in the present."
Susse Wold receives the Harlequin Performing Arts Prize 2026.
The Jury Said:
Susse Wold changed the way we see women in 'My Fair Lady' at Det Ny Teater. Through her refined and uninhibited interpretation of Mrs. Higgins, she gave the character a feminist force and a radiant, triumphant smile that coloured the entire production and made it feel entirely of the moment.
Susse herself was the season's great surprise. Through this role, she has confirmed her exceptional status in Danish theatre. She performs with effortless elegance, subtle emphases and charming glances that reach all the way up to the audience on the highest balcony. Her acting is psychological realism at its most natural and radiant. Even her angriest lines sound polite, perhaps because she lights up the room with her irresistible smile.
Henrik Lyding was captivated by Susse: "She has perhaps one of the most beautiful voices in the world. Resonant and yet gentle, without a single letter escaping with an ugly sound."
He also admired her sustained work as president of the AIDS Foundation; he himself was active as a volunteer at the AIDS Helpline. Henrik Lyding would have cheered her fighting spirit and her irrepressible Mrs. Higgins.
Congratulations on the Harlequin Performing Arts Prize 2026!
Jury
Dinna Bjørn
Choreographer
Anne Middelboe Christensen
Theatre and Dance Critic at Dagbladet Information
Michael Søby
Theatre, Musical and Film Critic at CPH Culture
Jan Hertz
Theatre Director
