Shoot – kameran går!

It’s the early childhood of the film industry. Feverish activity is going on at the big film studio Kosmograph. We’re there, watching the filming of Spartacus, as the actors literally throw themselves between roles at a crazy pace in a jungle of cameramen, scriptwriters, film directors and stagehands.

The film shoot is dangerously close to being shut down. Not only are the sets collapsing, but the film crew is going on strike, the stars are threatening to pull out and the financiers are making absurd demands. A caged tiger, meant to be shot to death in the film’s final scene, gets an unexpected role in the story. And just around the corner a world war is approaching, so everything is uncertain.

Inspired by a novel by Nobel prizewinner Luigi Pirandello, this is a parody of the Italian film industry and a warning about the consequences of modernity. Director Erik Holmström unleashes his theatrical playfulness in a form that stretches from fast-moving farce to low-intensive drama, sparking a discussion about the role and situation of the arts.

Holmström is a director, a dramatist and an actor. He is also the founder and artistic leader of Malmö dockteater (the Malmö Puppet Theatre), whose ensemble performs puppet theatre for adults, such as the highly praised Funktionell dumhet (Functional Stupidity), which toured to Göteborgs Stadsteater (Gothenburg City Theatre) in 2017, and its independent sequel Skvalpet (The Splash). Other notable productions directed by Holmström include Vad gör vi här? (What Are We Doing Here?) At Malmö Stadsteater (Malmö City Theatre), Automata at Orionteatern (Orion Theatre) and Flickland (Girl Land) at Dramaten (the Royal Dramatic Theatre). In Gothenburg, Holmström has directed three productions to date at Folkteatern: Doktor Faustus (Doctor Faustus), Don Quijote and most recently, during the spring of 2022, Moderna tider (Modern Times).

Photo: AORTA

Premiere

21 Oct 2022

Stage

Stora Scen