Kierkegaard's esoteric musings, considered the forerunner to existentialism, deeply influenced French thinker Jean-Paul Sartre. But while most Danes have heard of Kierkegaard, and are proud of his influence on Western thought, few ever bother to read him because he's just so difficult.

His 1843 work "Either/Or" — which muses on existence and aesthetic and ethical questions about love — runs into hundreds of pages and is considered even by many academics to be convoluted and longwinded. Moeller, a 28-year-old stage director, cut through the arcane thicket of thought by focusing on a meeting between Kierkegaard and his lover.

Peter Tudvad, author of several books on the Danish thinker, approves of Damgaard's comedy approach and acknowledges that Kierkegaard's writings are "hard to grasp" for most people.

"Many have heard about Soeren Kierkegaard but very, very few people have actually read his works," he said.

The bicentennial events begin on Sunday with Denmark's Queen Margrethe expected to attend a church service at Copenhagen's Lutheran Cathedral, where Kierkegaard's funeral was held in 1855. Festivities in Denmark run through Nov. 11, the day he died at age 42. The post office also has issued a special stamp commemorating the anniversary.