Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) is to Danish theatre what playwrights such as Shakespeare, Molière, Ibsen, Strindberg are to their national stages - and the world stage. During his lifetime, Holberg was a major figure in European literature and thought. In Denmark, his work forms the backdrop to writers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen. The quality of Holbergs writing, the universality of his themes, his understanding of stage and auditorium, more than qualify him to resume his place on the international stage. This third volume in a series of new translations presents Holbergs philosophical essay on the popular (but not with the authorities) masked entertainment of his day, the masquerade. Two plays then wittily expose and explore subtle negotiations around identity, gender, class, generation, each with particular focus on the mask as means of unmasking codes and conventions. Epistle 347 is a philosophical take on the carnivalesque masquerade as being truer than the social roleplays, under the paradoxical maxim that strictly speaking we are not truly masked except when bare faced. In the play Masquerade, a patriarchal master of his house sees his hierarchical world order under threat from the young generation - and even his own wife! - enjoying useless masked amusements. At the other end of the scale, the servant pays no heed to rules and hierarchies. Ultimately, however, they are all but pawns in a game of chance. In the ironic harlequinade The Invisibles, a young gentleman falls in love with an invisible (masked) lady. This noble case of amour causes the servant - Harlequin - to reassess his own wholesome, sensual relationship to his sweetheart - Columbine - and he finds their amour sadly lacking any sophistication. His ensuing high-flown attempts at imitating aristocratic courtesy cast an ambiguous light on the cultured protocols. It is up to female intelligence to remove the mask from the illusion. I never tire of reading Holbergs plays. (Henrik Ibsen, 1869)

Bent Holm, Associate Professor, Theatre Studies, Institute for Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen. Dramaturg and translator of plays, esp. by Dario Fo, De Filippo, and Goldoni. Gaye Kynoch has a background in the integrated academic and practical study of drama, performance and theatre arts. She is a researcher and Danish-English literary translator of theatre plays, novels, books and essays on the arts.