It was in "Summer in P1" that Sigge Eklund began to tell about how he, at the age of 12, sought out his grandfather Bengt Eklund, the Dramaten legend who had withdrawn from the world. In the radio program, he opened the door to a upbringing in the shadow of two actors with enormous personalities.
My grandmother and grandfather had incredibly powerful voices. This, combined with the fact that they were so verbal and had such black humor, made it very entertaining to listen to them, despite the fact that what they said was quite full of hate when they talked about each other, says Sigge Eklund.
Parts of the summer talk came from the play "Bolero" – which will be put up by Stefan Larsson at Intiman this fall. There, Sigge Eklund formulates himself about one of the few stories he hasn't talked about in the podcast with Alex Schulman.
This is something you only do once in a lifetime, writing a play about your family like this.
Dare to Confront
The play is a pastiche of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night", which the grandparents had a special relationship to. It is a settlement between two spouses who are both actors, and who suffer from the fact that the spotlight has faded.
The real Bengt Eklund had a bitter feud with Ingmar Bergman, and claims that the latter ruined his career. The grandmother, on the other hand, blamed her problems on her husband.
Her career, after all, was ruined by a very special event that is revealed in the play. He locked her in when she had her big chance, says Lena Endre, who calls the dramatic conflict "actor's candy".
As a 13-year-old, Sigge Eklund took on the task of understanding the family sorrow – but only now can he untie the knots. Now, Sigge Eklund and his brother Fredrik can also take their place, as the couple's two sons.
This is part of the fantasy, here we can dare to confront and question them, what I was too young to do when they lived.
Burned Down
Sigge Eklund hopes that he does his grandparents justice – and looks forward to Stefan Larsson's interpretation. He follows the work from Los Angeles, where his life has been turned upside down after his house was completely destroyed in the fires in January.
Only now has a kind of desolation arisen, when you realize how important all your things are, what constitutes a home, he says and tells that the toughest is the children's sorrow.
The security is gone. It's up to us to build it up again, but it won't happen overnight.
A chamber play in two acts by Sigge Eklund, directed by Stefan Larsson. Premiere on October 3 at Intiman in Stockholm.
The cast includes: Max Ulveson, Johan Ulveson, Lena Endre, and Isac Calmroth.
