STYGN

A story about the rise and fall of Algots Nord, about friendship, assembly lines and v-jeans.

In 1972, the textile company Algots Nord came to Västerbotten to start three factories. According to the plans, more than a thousand people would be employed in the facilities, which were presented as Northern Europe's most modern sewing factories. Seven years later, Algots Nord was closed down.

Now Västerbottensteatern is staging the play "Stygn" about the textile company Algots Nord and the women who worked there. The theatre's artistic director Johanna Salander is directing. In the autumn of 2025, the major investment "Stygn" will premiere.

"By telling the story of the women at Algots, we can shed light on issues that concern the role of humans in our economic system today, where conditions can change from one day to the next and where new major industrial investments are being made here in the north. The women were encouraged to apply for jobs at Algots at a time when society wanted them out in working life and in the emerging industries they had a place to fill," says Johanna Salander, artistic director at Västerbottensteatern.

In 1972, the textile company Algots came to Västerbotten to start three factories. In a few days, thousands of women queued for jobs, many of them housewives who saw their chance to take the step into working life. The state provided millions in subsidies and according to the plan, over a thousand people would work in northern Europe's most modern sewing factories. But the seamstresses worked on old machines and government money was transferred to the parent company in Borås. Seven years later, Algots Nord was closed down. - The script is coloured by and based on stories from the women who worked at the factory, a collection that playwright Camilla Blomqvist will be working on in the coming months. In the work of finding stories from the place and portraying them on stage, we give the audience an important part of Västerbotten's history and about women's work in an industrial establishment," says Johanna.

The personal journey that many women went through when they went from housewife life to a job at Algots arouses interest; What did it do to the view of oneself, to take one's place in society, to have one's own economy, to dare to make one's voice heard for the first time, or to be one of those who choose to be silent. "But when the winds turned, the Swedish textile industry moved to low-wage countries, and the mass production of clothes that we have become accustomed to since then has enormous consequences for people and the environment. History can really shed light on the present," says Johanna Salander.

On the assembly line of the factories, there were tough conditions. A protracted and dramatic union struggle for better conditions and to save jobs began, despite the fact that many employees were new to professional life and lacked experience in organizing. Despite the struggle, the factories were finally closed down. The jobs in Västerbotten could not be saved. -"Stygn" tells a contemporary story that is highly relevant to us today in Skellefteå and in northern Sweden. It reflects a desire to create jobs and that industrial production could take place in places other than low-wage countries. Back then it was the textile industry, today there are other initiatives where we see similar challenges. Through the performance, we can get help to understand our history, but also revitalize the discussion about our future, says Challa Gustavsson, CEO of Västerbottensteatern.