During the Guldbagge Gala on January 30, 1995, TV4 viewers voted Helena Bergström the best Swedish actress of the century, ahead of Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo.
The then-30-year-old actress, heavily pregnant with her daughter Molly, heard mocking laughter on the way to the stage, where she received a vase as a prize from film legend Nils-Petter Sundgren.
If you watch the TV broadcast from there, I get up and say, "Sorry, sorry, I apologize for this," says Helena Bergström.
Autobiographical
The incident at Cirkus in Stockholm is now the starting point for Helena Bergström's new autobiographical play "Actor of the Century", which will be staged at the Scalateatern in Stockholm this autumn.
The idea for the performance, which she wrote with her friend Denize Karabuda, who also directs, came when Helena Bergström found the vase she received as a prize when she moved house. It was tucked behind a bunch of books on the bookshelf.
It was filled with old pine cones. I emptied the vase, called my good friend Denize and said, "We're writing a play," says Helena Bergström.
Helena Bergström says that it was only when she found the vase again that she was able to laugh about the incident at the Guldbagge Awards.
"I don't feel particularly sorry for myself about that. But it was horrible, and right then I felt that the baby was going to be born on stage," says Helena Bergström with a laugh and continues:
Then I ran out the back door, came home, collapsed and cried.
"Mamma Mia"
The performance is structured as a journey through Helena Bergström's theatre career, where she enters and exits famous roles she has played - such as Nora in "A Doll's House", Blanche in "Linje Lusta" or the artist Edith Piaf. The roles also have something to say about her life and what it is like to be a woman.
We have built a kind of biography through my roles in the theater and how they have shaped me.
It sounds a bit like a theatrical version of "Mamma Mia"?
Yes, you could say that. It's a kind of "Mamma Mia" in theatrical form. That's a good comparison.
The incident at the Guldbagge Awards 31 years ago has left its mark on her, and it was humiliating. So why bring it up again?
"It's something that has happened in my life that has also affected me. Now I'm 62 years old; it's about owning this. Now I want to say, "Thank you for voting.""
Mikael Forsell/TT
Facts: "Actor of the Century"
TT
The performance, subtitled “Who does she think she is?”, is written by Helena Bergström together with Denize Karabuda, who also directs. The duo have known each other since they met at the Royal Swedish Academy of Dramatic Arts when they were 19. It premieres at the Scalateatern in Stockholm on September 2.
In the performance, Helena Bergström recreates around 20 of her theatre roles. It is still a secret who they are, but during a career spanning almost 40 years, she has played, among other things, "Linje Lusta", "Vd", "Fröken Julie", "Cabaret", "Medea", "Hamlet", "Ett dollhem", "Piaf" and "Pygmalion" at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm, as well as "Hairspray" and "Guys and Dolls" on other stages.
