Helen och Agnes

We dive right down into an intimate conversation between two women, the one hungers for acknowledgement and safety, the other is more reserved. They are both trying to get closer and to understand each other.

How do we create a relationship with another person? Is it through conversation? How far do we dare expose ourselves - and what happens if the other doesn’t dare as much? Can I share all of my deepest thoughts and feelings with another person? If so, how does that change my self-image – and my view of the other?

With Helen och Agnes (Helen and Agnes), Johanna Svalbacke has written yet another intimate and dialogue-rich play about our deepest thoughts and feelings. Her previous works include the compelling and highly praised drama Shirins vargar (Shirin’s wolves), staged at Göteborgs Stadsteater (Gothenburg City Theatre) in the spring of 2019 and Luciakandidaterna (The Saint Lucia Candidates), performed at Backa Teater (Backa Theatre) in 2021, both directed by Marcus Carlsson.

Marcus Carlsson directs Helen och Agnes with a delicate touch, sensitively focusing on the most central aspects of the story and entering a secret room in which questions are more exciting than answers.

We see Anna Bjelkerud and Hannah Alem Davidson in the roles of Helen and Agnes.

From the script: If you don’t say very much about yourself than maybe it isn’t so important to meet the other person. Well maybe you can get together anyway. Or can you?

Educated at Filmhögskolan i Göteborg (the Gothenburg University Film Institute), Marcus Carlsson was praised for his final project film Din barndom ska aldrig dö (Your Childhood Will Never Die), which received a trophy in the Cultural Journalists of Sweden competition for New Filmmaker of the Year. His short film Dirtbags won the audience prize in Startsladden (Starting Off) during the Gothenburg Film Festival of 2014. His feature film Kärlek & vilja (Love & Will) reached film houses in 2018 and Carlsson is currently developing his next film, Biodlaren (The Bee Keeper). His stage productions to date include Shirins vargar (Shirin’s Wolves), Faces, Luciakandidaterna (The Saint Lucia Candidates), Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes from a Marriage) and Isadora & Kärleken (Isadora & Love).

Photo: Jonas Kündig

Premiere

14 Oct 2022

Stage

Lilla Scen