Eva Rydberg left her beloved Fredriksdal this year after 32 summers of open-air theatre in Helsingborg. But the beloved artist can't sit still. Now she's planning a new show based on her most popular songs and characters.
Before Eva Rydberg became associated with Nils Poppe and Fredriksdalsteatern, she performed shows for many years, often at Kronprinsen in Malmö. With the help of director Hans Marklund, she is recreating that concept.
"I haven't been doing this since the late 80s. So it will be a comeback - and a farewell performance," Eva Rydberg tells TT.
The Chaffinch Knut
In the first half of the show, old characters she has created over the years and roles she has played are presented. The chaffinch Knut has to be included, she says. Like "Charlie Chaplin", the song Eva Rydberg sang in Melodifestivalen in 1977.
The show "It would be pure madness to sit still" will premiere in Malmö on March 12. The idea is to let an autobiographical thread run through the first act.
"There will be films and photographs and I will talk. But I can't talk too much, because then it will be boring," she says.
The second act is devoted to the roles she never got to play.
There are certain things that I want to do. Like “Chicago” and “Cabaret”. I have received many offers over the years that I could never take because I had Fredriksdalsteatern in the summers.
Farewell... or?
But a farewell tour? Eva Rydberg is not entirely sure that this spring's tour will be the last one she does.
Right now that's it. Then we'll see. If I feel like I want to continue and the audience wants me to continue... If I feel like I can do it, then I will. But as it is now, it's my farewell tour.
The announcement of the tour comes at a time when there is a storm surrounding Fredriksdalsteatern, where Eva Rydberg was artistic director for many years.
There has been a disagreement between the company that runs the theatre and its partner, entertainment giant 2Entertain, regarding the financial conditions for future productions. As a result, Eva Rydberg's successor Claes Malmberg has had to leave. The local theatre company will now continue on its own.
I don't get involved in that, I have full confidence in those who have taken over. That's all I'm saying. Mikael Lindell Bolin, Fredrik Dolk and Anders Aldgård have been in the industry for a long time.
But you were the one who suggested that Claes Malmberg should become the new artistic director. Doesn't this seem sad?
"I don't think anything about it. They'll have to take care of that themselves," says Eva Rydberg.
12/3 Malmö, 18/3 Halmstad, 19/3 Karlskrona, 20/3 Kalmar, 21/3 Växjö, 3/4 Linköping, 4/4 Jönköping, 7/4 Stockholm, 9/4 Gothenburg, 17/4 Kristianstad, 24/4 Helsingborg.
