MAZEN INKL. FROKOST

Helt Tæt På is a rare opportunity to experience Mazen Ismail in a truly intimate setting. Closer to the words. Closer to the stories. And closer to the feelings we cannot always find the words for ourselves.

In January 2026, Mazen took to the stage at Operaen in København, where more than 3,400 people attended two sold-out performances in a historic setting. There, he showed how poetry can be reimagined as a modern live experience and bring together a large and diverse audience. With Helt Tæt På, he takes the opposite route: from the big stage to an intimate space. Over dinner, Mazen invites guests right into his world. Here, poetry is not just something you listen to. It becomes part of the encounter between people. Throughout the evening, he shares some of the most powerful and much-loved poems and stories from his live performances. With warmth, humour and honesty, he puts into words love, relationships, life and everything we carry inside us. An evening where the distance between artist and audience almost disappears.

ABOUT MAZEN ISMAIL

Mazen is a poet, award-winning performer and storyteller. He is known for his ability to make powerful emotions feel immediate and relatable, and for creating a special connection with his audience, whether he is performing for a few people or in a packed hall. He created Talte Tanker, where poetry, storytelling, performance and music come together as one unified experience. His writing draws on lived experience and explores the thoughts and feelings many of us know, but cannot always put into words ourselves. Mazen has been honoured by Statens Kunstfond for his work with poetry and live storytelling, and has established himself as a distinctive voice in Danish cultural life. With Helt Tæt På, he returns to perhaps poetry’s simplest starting point: the encounter between people. No big stage. No distance between artist and audience. No evening quite like the one before. Just stories, words, laughter and the moments that arise when people meet. Helt Tæt På is not just something you watch. It is something you become part of. Because literature should not only be read. It should be experienced.