Karen Blixen - Isak Dinesen home

We received the following email on January 17, 2006, from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada :

Hello,

I want to share a wonderful story about Karen Blixen.  In November of 2004 I read Lucifer’s Child by William Luce.  I fell in love with the play and with Karen Blixen and decided to do it myself.  I enlisted the help of Harrison Hill Players – a local community theatre company, and specifically the help of Marilyn Harrison, director, playwright and president of Harrison Hill Players.

We did the first two performances on February 18^th and 19^th in 2005.  The audiences were small but very appreciative, the local newspaper reviewed the play twice (!) once at the dress rehearsal and the second time on opening night and loved it.  We did three summer performances (when the tourists are in town) and another performance last fall.

We are located on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada.  This is a very rural area, and usually entertainment takes the form of comedy skits written by local people.  This was a very sophisticated effort and amazingly was loved by everyone who saw it.  One woman came to me after the play and said, “My knees are still shaking, I’m going to find every one of her books.”

That is just one of many stories of people who did not know Karen before the play, but were inspired by the play to find the books.

We are now preparing letters and information packets to send out to colleges and universities in hopes we can take the play further by approaching Departments of Women’s Studies.

I love playing Karen Blixen – it is perhaps the most wonderful role I have ever played.

Best regards,

Diana K. McKinnon
49 Acadian Road
Margaree Forks, Nova Scotia
Canada BOE 2A0