Tidskrift för Litteraturvetenskap (Dec 2023)
Historiska narrativ och samtidens Sverige i teater för ung publik
Abstract
Historical Narratives and Contemporary Sweden in Theatre for Young Audiences. Eyewitnesses as Trauma-Drama. Children’s theatre in Sweden has a tradition of working with various political, social and existential issues. The purpose of the article is to explore the potential of children’s theater to stage an inclusive Sweden, with an empirical starting point in the theatre production Eyewitnesses. In Eyewitnesses, Young Malmö City Theatre wanted to bring to life testimonies from the Holocaust, in a city that is known for having extended problems with contemporary anti-Semitism. Eyewitnesses is based on true life stories and aimed at a young audience aged 13-18. The article examines wether Eyewitnesses has the potential to contribute to increased intercultural understanding and respect for human rights, focusing on the emotions that the performance evokes. In the article, I employ theories about cultural trauma and trauma-drama, and focus on the dramaturgical choices that are made, and the young audience’s reception. The article’s empricial basis consists of performance observations, audience observations, and interviews with the young audience. The article shows that Eyewitnesses not only has the potential to function as a historical narrative, but reflections are also awakened about contemporary social traumas and sufferings. At the same time, a discrepancy in the image of contemporary Sweden is revealed. Some informants highlight Sweden as an equal country characterized by freedom, while others identify issues of racism and segregation. From this perspective, three different images emerge: one where racism is seen as something that primarily happens outside Sweden's borders, one that highlights segregation and that we live in a racist society, and finally a third, which is also the dominant one, where critical reflection on current issues of inequality is sparked from the encounter with the theatre performance. In this way, Eyewitnesses has the potential to function as a trauma-drama, depending on the emotions that the performance evokes.
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