A window on Sweden
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The Biennial for Performing Arts brings drama and dance from all over the world
The current trend of blurring the boundaries between theatre and dance was once again manifested last month when the Teaterunionen, the body that represents Sweden in Unesco’s International Theatre Institute (ITI), staged the “Scenkonstbiennalen: Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts”.
Combining the separate biennials in each discipline organised in alternate years for more than a decade, the biennial also had a stronger international flavour. Among the 27 stage productions presented, five were from overseas, and most Swedish text-based performances came complete with either English interpretation or surtitles on different devices including iPods.
Another major international aspect was the “Music Theatre Now” event, another ITI initiative, in which composers, lyricists and directors of music theatre productions from all over the world were invited to present their works to the public as well as their colleagues in the field.
The Swedish national section of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) also hosted a seminar dubbed “The Performing Arts: the concepts, the practices and the critics”, bringing together IATC members from around the world, myself included.
The biennial marked not just my first visit to Scandinavia but also provided me with a window into the world of contemporary Swedish dance and theatre.
In comparison to other festivals of the same length, the number of productions packed into the six-day biennial was on the low side, doing away with any sentiment of attending a performing arts boot camp where a critic needs to be in the theatre from 11am to 11pm. Instead, seminars and workshops on various topics, either in English or in Swedish with English interpretation, were held every morning and afternoon, allowing visitors to balance their schedules between talks, performances, socialising and enjoying the occasional Swedish sunshine.
In her introductory session for foreign guests, dance and theatre critic Margaret Sorensen, who also serves as vice-president of IATC, noted that Sweden’s earlier biennials had always been held in different cities. This delighted local governments and the people who, she said, always pitched in fully to make the event a success and also reflected the fact that the almost 200 Swedish dance and theatre companies are spread out all over the country. She also gleefully announced – and provided proof – that performing arts attendance eclipses that of football matches! Perhaps Zlatan Ibrahimovic would do well to stay with Paris Saint-Germain.
This year’s event was hosted by Jonkoping, a city in southern Sweden and east of Gothenburg. The seven days and six nights there turned out to be an unforgettable experience, not only because of the events in the biennial but also thanks to the hospitality offered by the local people.
The biennial was centred on the Spira Performing Arts Centre , a thoroughly modern building on the edge of a lake. Opened on November 11, 2011, it doesn’t look like a massive arts complex but is home to a theatre, a concert hall, a small theatre and a cafe theatre as well as conference rooms, rehearsal spaces and a coffee shop and restaurant.
Prior to the biennial, my knowledge of Swedish performing arts was limited to the works of playwright August Strindberg, choreographer Mats Ek and, of course, Abba.
The biennial’s first evening offered an example of how a foreign classic work is staged in Swedish theatre today through the Spira’s resident troupe Smalands Musik and Teater’s adaptation of Schiller’s “Maria Stuart”. Although I wished the pre-intermission scenes could have been as experimental, meaning less loyal to Schiller, as the post-intermission ones, I was enthralled by the performance of this acting ensemble and the spectacular set and video designs that never outshone them.
The following afternoon I witnessed first-hand why Sweden is globally renowned for theatre for children and youth. Gothenburg-based Backa Teater’s “5Boys.com” ingeniously showed the violence in boys bred by, among other things, Hollywood action heroes, by having five actresses portraying them accompanied by five male musicians on five different instruments. The fun continued that evening with Stockholm’s City Theatre’s production of “From Sammy with Love”. This featured two Swedish actors, both coloured, paying tribute to American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr while also relating their background, thus turning the performance into much more than a musical revue.
Another reminder that Swedish people are not all blue eyes and blonde hair and of our attitudes towards “the minorities” was found in the play “I Call My Brothers” staged by Malmo Stadsteater and Riksteatern. Ironically, I watched this on the same day that the fighting in the suburbs of Stockholm made international headlines.
More about the Scenkonstbiennalen will appear in the following weeks, so stay tuned.
The writer’s trip was supported by the Teaterunionen and Spira/Smalands Musik and Teater.
SEE YOU IN 2015
The next Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts will be in May 2015 in Malmo, just across the bridge from Copenhagen, making it much more convenient for international access. For more, see www.ScenkonstBiennalen.se.
Prior to the biennial, my knowledge of Swedish performing arts was limited to the works of playwright August Strindberg, choreographer Mats Ek and, of course, Abba.
The biennial’s first evening offered an example of how a foreign classic work is staged in Swedish theatre today through the Spira’s resident troupe Smalands Musik and Teater’s adaptation of Schiller’s “Maria Stuart”. Although I wished the pre-intermission scenes could have been as experimental, meaning less loyal to Schiller, as the post-intermission ones, I was enthralled by the performance of this acting ensemble and the spectacular set and video designs that never outshone them.
The following afternoon I witnessed first-hand why Sweden is globally renowned for theatre for children and youth. Gothenburg-based Backa Teater’s “5Boys.com” ingeniously showed the violence in boys bred by, among other things, Hollywood action heroes, by having five actresses portraying them accompanied by five male musicians on five different instruments. The fun continued that evening with Stockholm’s City Theatre’s production of “From Sammy with Love”. This featured two Swedish actors, both coloured, paying tribute to American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr while also relating their background, thus turning the performance into much more than a musical revue.
Another reminder that Swedish people are not all blue eyes and blonde hair and of our attitudes towards “the minorities” was found in the play “I Call My Brothers” staged by Malmo Stadsteater and Riksteatern. Ironically, I watched this on the same day that the fighting in the suburbs of Stockholm made international headlines.
More about the Scenkonstbiennalen will appear in the following weeks, so stay tuned.
The writer’s trip was supported by the Teaterunionen and Spira/Smalands Musik and Teater.
SEE YOU IN 2015
The next Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts will be in May 2015 in Malmo, just across the bridge from Copenhagen, making it much more convenient for international access. For more, see www.ScenkonstBiennalen.se.
