It was the actor himself who, together with producer Vicky von der Lancken, started the summer theater at Krusenstiernska in 2008, after talking for a long time about how fun it would be to perform outdoors.
Sun-drenched Kalmar was perfect both geographically and weather-wise.
We went down and started looking for a place, found Krusenstiernska and fell head over heels in love. That's the way it is, says Gustafsson.
Since the first performance “Borrowing Feathers” in 2008, theater has been performed at the 19th-century courtyard in the Old Town of Kalmar every summer, with the exception of the pandemic years. But after next year it will be over. The County Administrative Board is putting a stop to it, citing that it is putting too much strain on trees and vegetation.
Everything has its time, but this theater is very dear to my heart and everyone who has been there. It feels a little sad.
Avoids death anxiety
On June 25th, the premiere of the final farce "Caught on the Net" directed by Edward af Sillén will take place. When it premiered in Sweden at Oscarsteatern in 2004, Robert Gustafsson played the lead role as the taxi driver Per-Arne, who lives a double life with two families. Now he takes on the role of Per-Arne's confused father.
For once, I felt like it would be fun to play someone older than I am now. It's a convenient way to get away from my own death anxiety.
Unlike previous farces at Krusenstiernska, the performance is set in the 21st century.
Everyone remembers when the internet came along and you could start chatting. That's exactly what's happening here. Two young people start chatting and meet up, but don't know that they have the same father, who is a bigamist and of course has to put a stop to it.
"Magically"
A "super-charged" Robert Gustafsson, who is currently playing in the former Krusenstiernska production "Trassel" at Oscarsteatern, hopes for a worthy ending in Småland's summer attire.
I'm looking forward to that wonderful atmosphere in the second act when the sun starts to set and the electric light starts to take over. The scene grows, the seagulls fly up in the sky and it's warm and nice and people laugh so hard they scream. It's magical.
Krusenstiernska Teatern is an open-air theatre in the city garden Krusenstiernska Gården in the Old Town of Kalmar with just over 1,000 seats. It is run by Robert Gustafsson and producer Vicky von der Lancken, entertainment producer and director of Oscarsteatern in Stockholm.
Robert Gustafsson has played in the productions "Lånta fjädrar" (2008), "Zpanska flugan" (2010), "Hjälten från Kalmarsund" (2012), "Charmörer på vift" (2014), "Tresteg i snedsteg" (2015), "Flaggan i topp" (2017), "Trassel" (2019) and "Ojdå!... en till?!" (2024).
The finalist will be Ray Cooney's "Caught in the Net" with Robert Gustafsson, Ola Forssmed, Martina Sundén, Hanna Eklund and Eric Ericsson. Edward af Sillén is directing.
Premiere June 25, 2026.
