Theatre
Ett resande teatersällskap
Not translated into English
August Blanche · 1848
Synopsis
A small troupe of travelling actors has arrived in Vimmerby, in Småland. They lack money, food and a hall: the director, Alexander Sjövall, sets up in a barn near the town gate, without turning out the horses. He means to dazzle the province with a sublime play of his own writing, and his actors, the disenchanted Ölander, Grip and Ek, do what they can. Teodor, son of a rich craftsman, joins the troupe and falls in love with Josephine, the director's daughter, while his father pursues him to bring him back to a settled life.
Context
The farce was first staged on 17 May 1848 at the Royal Theatre under the title Une tragédie à Vimmerby, and was booed. The author reworked it and had it printed in 1850 under the title Komedianterne, then returned it to the stage in 1853 under its definitive title. The starting point is a French play drawn from Scarron's Roman comique, but the character of Ölander seems to be his own creation. Swedish radio broadcast it in 1959, television in 1961, and a 1972 series was freely inspired by it.
Who it is for
A farce in two acts with choruses and couplets, in Swedish; it has been translated neither into French nor into English.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the best farce in Swedish literature; the line “Fan skall vara teaterdirektör !” has passed into the language.
Sources for this page 10
The pages consulted to check this page.