translation 1961). The much debated Dage paa en Sky both takes place among the Olympic mythological goddesses and in the brain of a suicidal scientist, it warns against the atomic war, and accuses scientists of prostituting themselves to the rulers. The even more complex Den blå pekingeser also takes place in the head of a man, while his former love is threatened by death. Again the message is to break one's isolation and to accept life. Abell died in Copenhagen. Hailed in his prime as a fresh and humorous reformer, critic and teaser of Danish theatre and later respected for his anti-fascist attitudes. After the war Abell was accused of being a fellow traveller and also criticised for being too complicated and strained. This together with his growing disappointments with the left wing partly led to isolation. However he is probably still regarded as the most important new-thinker of Danish drama of the inter-war period. In European dramatic literature he has been compared to French authors such as Giraudoux and Anouilh. He also was a song writer of revues, and he wrote film scripts. He became a member of the Danish Academy in 1960. Works Sources Banham, Martin, ed. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press, 1992. Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford University Press, 1983. Frederick J. Marker: Kjeld Abell. Gloucester, Mass. 1976. Sven Møller Kristensen: Dansk litteratur 1918-1952. 2. ed. Copenhagen, 1965 (entirely in Danish) References External links 1901 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Danish dramatists and playwrights Danish male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Danish male writers People from Ribe