Joakim Groth makes a performance of the audience’s stories / Publikn tarinat näyttämölle Lilla Teaternissa

“The starting point for Actual Events was the idea of trying to reflect Lilla Teatern’s audience in the form of a performance. For that, a survey was made that dealt with five questions about the essentials of life,” says director Joakim Groth.

Based on about a hundred answers and a dozen interviews with those who responded, Joakim Groth, Marina Meinander and dramaturg Elisa Makarevitch have now prepared a documentary and music-filled performance.

“We have sifted through and composed the text for a performance that has the ambition to be both a cross-section of a region and a time document and a group portrait in the form of theatre,” says Joakim Groth.

Joakim Groth has directed about fifty performances, but this is the first time the text comes from the audience.  

The audience sent in both lighthearted and serious stories, on big and small topics. We get e.g. See what happens when you drink two bottles of red wine and sit down on a 16-hour bus ride and how you tell your mother in your 50s about your father’s illegitimate children.

Groth has been inspired by Mattias Andersson’s acclaimed The Mental States of Gothenburg (Angered Theatre 2006) and “The Mental States of Sweden” (Dramaten 2013)

Lillan’s audience is portrayed by Birthe Wingren, Linda Zilliacus, Niklas Häggblom, Joachim Wigelius, Alexander Wendelin and Kira-Emmi Pohtokari.

Director Joakim Groth, dramaturgy Elisa Makarevitch, set design Katariina Kirjavainen, costume design Maria Rosenqvist, sound design Antero Mansikka and lighting design Ville Aaltonen.

Actual events, premiere on 11.1.2020 at Lilla Teatern (Yrjönkatu 30).

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Audience stories for the stage at Lilla Teatern

What event of your life would you like to see on the stage of a theatre? Lilla Teatern asked its audience this question and the result is the theatre performance Actual Events. The warm, polyphonic performance will premiere on 11 January 2020, directed by Joakim Groth. One of the main roles is played by actress Birthe Wingren, who has been working in Sweden for the past few years and is visiting her home country for the first time in a long time.

“The starting point was an attempt to portray the audience of Lilla Teatern in the form of a performance. To do this, we sent the audience a questionnaire that dealt with five questions about the meaning of life,” says director Joakim Groth.

Based on about a hundred responses and ten interviews, Groth, Marina Meinander and dramaturg Elisa Makarevitch have written a documentary, polyphonic play. Some of the stories will also be heard as songs composed by the working group.

“We have refined the text into a performance with which we try to create a cross-section of this place, in this time, told through the means of theatre,” Groth says.

Joakim Groth has directed about fifty performances, and this is the first time that the text of the play has been created by the audience.

Stories from the audience came from both lighter and heavier topics, and both small and large are seen side by side. For example, we see a scene where a person sits after a 16-hour bus ride after drinking two bottles of red wine. We also meet a person who, at the age of 50, finds out about his father’s extramarital affair and his stepsister, who is eight years younger, and has to tell his mother about it.

The Actual Events performance has been inspired by Mattias Andersson’s performances The Mental States of Gothenburg (Angereds teater 2006) and The Mental States of Sweden (Dramaten 2013).

Lillan’s audience is played by Birthe Wingren, Linda Zilliacus, Niklas Häggblom, Joachim Wigelius, Alexander Wendelin and Kira-Emmi Pohtokari.

Directed by Joakim Groth, dramaturg Elisa Makarevitch, set design by Katariina Kirjavainen, costume design by Maria Rosenqvist, sound design by Antero Mansikka and lighting design by Ville Aaltonen.

Actual Events, premiere 11.1.2020 at Lilla Teatern (Yrjönkatu 30).