In 70 years, Dramaten has had the rights to Nobel laureate Eugene O'Neill's drama about a dysfunctional nuclear family's downfall. Now it's being played on a nationwide tour, and Grynet Molvig, who portrays Mary Tyrone, feels the expectations.
I'm terrified. No, I think it's going to be exciting and fun and enjoyable. But it's a heavy play and one of the heaviest women's roles in world drama, she says.
Actually, Grynet Molvig felt ready to tour, but she couldn't say no to the play about a theater family marked by addiction, codependency, and alcoholism – seeking answers to why life turned out the way it did during one day in 1912.
It's mental illness in capital letters – and if there's something that's becoming more and more common in Sweden, it's mental illness, says Grynet Molvig, who believes many will recognize themselves.
Love in the Dark
Krister Henriksson also emphasizes that the theme of addiction is important to play around the country. He calls the drama "one of the better plays that have been written overall".
It's a precursor to Norén and all who come after.
In Eva Dahlman's version, it's been cut down to just over two hours of playing time. And despite the misery, Krister Henriksson thinks the play is primarily a very strong love story, about people who lie to preserve love.
It's about the small family, the small human being, and love in the dark. I agree with everyone who says it's very dark now, but there's a small candle shining, and that's this play.
Music and Resistance
The spring at Riksteatern is overall in a minor key, with several plays about war, apartheid, flight, and trauma. But Riksteatern's theater manager, Dritëro Kasapi, hopes that the repertoire "can help us free our thoughts in a painful and difficult time", he says in a press release where he also promises light.
Among other things, there will be music and resistance in the musical theater performance "Dear Winnie" about South African Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and fantasies about society's marginalized in "Pueblo".
"Idris & Esra" by Seluah Alsaati, directed by Nora Nilsson. Premiere on 17/1 in Hallunda.
"The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde, with a script by Jenny Schöldt Olsén and directed by Joel Kankkonen and Lars Otterstedt. Premiere on 18/1 in Hallunda.
"Long Day's Journey into Night" by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Eva Dahlman. Premiere on 25/1 in Askersund.
"The Cousins" by Amir Zuabi. World premiere on 25/1 in Hallunda.
"Dear Winnie" by Fikry El Azzouzi, directed by Junior Mthombeni. Swedish premiere on 31/1 in Hallunda.
"I Who Was So Fun to Drink Wine With" in a dramatization by Jani Lohikari and directed by Anna Novovic. World premiere on 3/2 in Torsby.
"Pueblo" with a script and directed by Ascanio Celestini. Swedish premiere in Kalix on 14/2.
"Night Hunter", music by Catharina Backman Kaarle, libretto and directed by Kerstin Perski. World premiere on 2/2.
"Death" by Lisen Ellard and Mattias Lech. Premiere in Gnosjö on 5/2.
"O", baby show with choreography by Peter Mills. World premiere in Varberg on 12/3.
"Mr. Klex Academy" by Felicia Ohly and directed by Nina Rudawski. World premiere in Lund on 9/3.
