Mötesplats för svensk och internationell scenkonst
In Scendatabasen you will find compiled searchable information for the professional performing arts in Sweden: theatre, dance, musical theatre, opera, circus, mime and performance art. Scendatabasen is operated by Teaterunionen. Since 1966 Svensk Teaterunion/Swedish ITI had compiled and published Månadens premiärer, a monthly publication of upcoming premieres that has served as a major source of information on contemporary Swedish performing arts.
Teaterunionen was founded in 1951 as the Swedish centre of the ITI. Over the years, the organization has developed into a platform for the Swedish performing arts, where we also work to support international relationships through collaboration and promote Swedish performing arts internationally.
As the (still) newly appointed managing director, I have now participated in my first meeting with the International Theatre Institute.
This happened last week in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates. The meeting included presentations of the exciting and important work of the various ITI committees.
At the office, we have now started the planning of our coming festivals, Swedstage, October 23-25 2016 and Scenkonstbiennalen (The Swedish Biennial for Performign Arts), May 23-28 2017. Be sure to save the dates!
Ulricha Johnson, managing director
Six contemporary Nordic plays will be staged and celebrated at New Nordic Drama during 2016 and 2017.
New Nordic Drama is a reading-festival with the purpose of presenting and uniting plays and playwrights from six Nordic countries: Faroe Islands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland. A jury from each represented country has selected their best contemporary play written and staged between January 2014 and December 2015. The selected plays will form the basis of the festival and show a glimpse of the current Nordic drama scene. The plays are:
Faroe Islands – “TÓM RÚM” (Empty Rooms) by Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs
“The play is universal and relevant for a bigger audience, and has the potential to last as the subject is universal and timeless” (Faroese argument)
Denmark – “SOLI DEO GLORIA” by Peter Asmussen
“The playwright uses a unique linguistic tone and dramaturgical precision that puts him in a master class along with Strindberg, Bergman and Norén” (Danish argument)
Sweden- “PEOPLE RESPECT ME NOW” by Paula Stenström Öhman
“The play really involves the viewer and encourages him or her to take a stance” (Swedish argument)
Norway – “VISNING” (Viewing) by Cecilie Løveid
“In Viewing, Løveid partly abandons the postmodernist position while social relations and power struggles are described tightly and efficiently with exemplary linguistic precision” (Norwegian argument)
Finland – “IHANAT IHMISET” (Lovely People) by Antti Hietala
“Antti Hietala’s Lovely People has been awarded by the Finnish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild as the best play of the year in Finland” (Finnish argument)
Iceland – “SEGULSVIД (Magnetic) by Sigurð Pálsson
“The play inspires interpretation on the stage in its multi-layered form and its tragicomic and passionate beauty” (Icelandic argument)
New Nordic Drama aims to put a greater focus on both new Nordic plays and the playwrights. The festival seeks to strengthen the bond between the Nordic countries and reach a greater audience. New Nordic Drama is a collaboration between twelve Nordic actors, two from each country, and three Nordic directors who will be staging selections from the plays in durations of half an hour each. The readings will be performed in their original languages supported with English subtitles. New Nordic Drama is supported by The Nordic Culture Fund. The plays will be published in English by the Faroese publishing company SROTIN.
New Nordic Drama premieres in the Faroe Islands May 27th-28th 2016 during the Nordic Performing Arts Days also called DAGARNIR 2016. Hereafter the reading-festival will go on a Nordic tour during 2016/17. The first stop will be at Husets Teater in Denmark June 8th 2016 during the CPH STAGE festival.
If you are have any questions regarding New Nordic Drama please contact:
Marita Svartá maritasvarta@gmail.com or Laura Ramberg – laura@husetsteater.dk – (+45) 27219232
New Nordic Drama has been developed by the Nordic Performing Arts Network, a board of representatives from the Nordic ITI-centers. Read more about the reading-festival here: www.nordicperformingartsdays.fo
The Nordic juries consist of:
Faroe Islands: Vár Berghamar Jacobsen, Sóley Danielsen and Paula Gaard
Denmark: Mette Garfield, Jakob Højgaard & Christina Wendelboe
Sweden: Lis Hellström Sveningson, Anders Duus, Judit Benedek and Birgit Hageby
Norway: The Ibsen Award jury
Finland: TINFO – Theatre Info Finland
Iceland: Jórunn Sigurðardóttir, Kristín Ómarsdóttir and Magnús Þór Þorbergsson
Since December 1 2015, Ulricha Johnson is the new Managing Director of Teaterunionen – Swedish ITI.
After nearly 40 years in the organization Teaterunionen’s secretary general Ann Mari Engel has retired. Our board has now appointed her successor, Ulricha Johnson. Ulricha Johnson has previosly worked at Riksteatern, Sweden’s national touring theatre.
Together with the Pskov Drama Theatre, in the city of Pskov Russia, we have been granted a two-year creative force grant from the Swedish Institute to continue our work in different ways to spread the Swedish performing arts in Russia.
Within the framework of our cooperation, four Swedish plays has been translated into Russian by Maria Ludkovskaja; The hundred we are by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, The Writers by Alejandro Leiva Wenger, My true selves by Erik Uddenberg and The Girl, the Mother and the Rubbish by Erik Uddenberg.
Together with our partners in Russia, we arranged the “Swedish week in Pskov” in March 2015. During this week, four Swedish companies, Unga Klara, Backa Teater, Poster Restante and Claire Parsons Co., visited the city and presented performances, film screenings, readings, workshops and seminars.
During the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts in Malmö May 2016, the formed artistc director of Pskov Drama Theatre Mr Vasily Senin participated and shared his experiences of working with performing arts in Russia.
In December 2015 Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg will host a reading of Alejandro Leiva Wenger’s The Writers.
Our purpose with the cooperation is to start a dialogue between the different operators of the performing arts life in Sweden and Russia. Through this project we hope to demonstrate how open and democratic practices in Sweden may look like, and to give the Swedish participants new ideas and tools from Russia.
“Underart” by Circus Cirkör. Photo: Mattias Edvall
