Elsa-Olenius-and-Karin-Notini-with-props-at-the-Childrens-Theatre-142437243896

() is a pioneering Swedish theatre company for children with a number of stages around Stockholm, founded in 1942.

History

In the 1930s, librarian

Elsa Olenius Elsa Viktoria Olenius (September 30, 1896 – August 25, 1984) was a Swedish librarian and writer, best remembered for pioneering children's library activities and theatre with children. She was awarded a in 1981. In the 1940s, she founded ('th ...

pioneered

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

and simple theatre games and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

for children at the

Stockholm City Library Stockholm Public Library (Swedish: ''Stockholms stadsbibliotek'' or ''Stadsbiblioteket'') is a library building in Stockholm, Sweden, designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund, and one of the city's most notable structures. The name is today u ...

's Hornsgatan branch, an activity that quickly grew in popularity as more and more children became interested. In 1941–1942,

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

ran Sweden's first children's theatre in Medborgarhuset under the name , a children's branch of his amateur theatre company for adults, . When his work there ended, Olenius took over the premises in 1942 and started a more developed children's theatre activity for interested children between seven and sixteen years old, with improvisation exercises to music, pantomime and other exercises. Gradually, real performances for audiences were created and eventually it was called .

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...

, among others, wrote plays specifically for the theatre. As a result of the large number of children and good economic growth, the Stockholm City Council decided in 1955 to support the proposal of the Children's Welfare Board to allow to create more permanent children's theatres around the city, initially in Årsta,

Gröndal Gröndal (''Green Valley'') is a district of the Hägersten-Liljeholmen borough in Söderort, the southern suburban part of Stockholm. The name Gröndal means Green Dale or Green Valley. Gröndal developed as a working class and industrial subur ...

and

Hägersten Hägersten (''Heronstone'') is an urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * ...

. A theatre management course was also set up under Olenius' direction and in the autumn of 1958 Olenius became Sweden's first children's theatre consultant and subsequently the head of a Greater Stockholm theatre agency. In 1969 there were ten different stages; in 1992 there were 14 permanent stages and some 40 additional groups in the Greater Stockholm area. In 1996, merged with the Stockholm and became . By 2002, around 150,000 children had participated in 's activities, including many well-known theatre and cultural figures including

Marika Lagercrantz Marika Karin Louise Lagercrantz (born 12 July 1954) is a Swedish actress. Since 2011, she has been Sweden's cultural attaché at the Berlin embassy in Germany. Lagercrantz was born in Solna. She is the daughter of Olof Lagercrantz, granddaught ...

Tomas Bolme Tomas Robert Olof Bolme (born 21 April 1945 in Högalid, Stockholm) is a Swedish actor. He is famous for being the Swedish voice of Tintin, and he is also the voice of the anime hero Cobra. As a child, he acted at Vår teater, a children's the ...

, Cecilia Nilsson,

Rebecka Liljeberg Rebecka Månstråle Liljeberg (born 13 May 1981) is a Swedish former actress who starred in the Swedish film '' Show Me Love'' (''Fucking Åmål'') (1998). Early life and career Rebecka was born in the town of Turinge, Sweden to an 18-year-old ...

Josephine Bornebusch Leyla Jerrie Josephine Bornebusch (born 12 September 1981) is a Swedish actress. Career Bornebusch was involved in Vår teater, a children's theatre, as a child. She began her acting career in the Swedish drama series ''Rederiet'' in 1999 and ...

Anita Wall Kerstin ''Anita'' Wall (born 11 July 1940), is a Swedish stage and film actress. She began acting at eleven years of age at Vår teater, a children's theatre, playing Pippi Longstocking and other roles. From 1958 to 1959 she was employed by Rik ...

, and more.

Society

After Olenius' death in 1984, the Friends of Society – the – was established in 1988 to provide advocacy management and financial assistance related to , and also to award the Penguin Prize to a person or an organization that has in one way or another been responsible for extraordinary work in the field of children and youth culture.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaar teater 1942 establishments in Sweden Theatres in Stockholm Children's theatre