Teatersoppa: Pelikanen

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The Pelican is a musical reinterpretation of Strindberg's classic chamber play from 1907. A creepy piece about the worst thing you can imagine: a mother who would rather drink champagne, go out dancing and seduce younger men than take care of her children. In short: a mother who does not love her children. Huh!

In addition to taking aim at Strindberg's drama, the performance has been inspired by the painful, contemporary conversation about parenthood. Has any generation been so preoccupied with the quality of parenthood, so divided about it or so plagued by a guilty conscience?

The performance premiered at and in collaboration with Strindberg's Intima Teater on September 7, 2024 and guest performed at Reginateatern in Uppsala and at Folkteatern in Gothenburg in October of the same year. The Pelican is written by the Uppsala-based duo Dag Thelander and Per Wickström, who are behind the critically acclaimed musicals The Magician from Chicago, The History of Madness and The Railway.

"The mother monster caught in a lustful cabaret... takes its form both seriously and with great lust" / Loretto Villalobos, SvD

"a powerful and funny shameful take on one of August Strindberg's bitterest female images" / Susanne Sigroth Lambe, Uppsala Nya Tidning

"a very good, fine, tight production... they must be ennobled!" / Kritcirkeln (podcast, Aftonbladet Kultur)

"this absolute gem of musical absurdism... heightened the ridiculousness of Strindberg whilst creating an aesthetic and comedic world that really drew you in as an audience. And throw in some absolute belter songs? Perfection." / Matthew Short, blog matthewsdramaturgy.com

"has all the makings of a free group's ultimate breakthrough. Something so thoroughly crafted to the most beautiful music, with such high-quality theatrical art performed and almost perfectly portrayed by the actors, is hard to find" / Bo-Ingvar Kollberg, blog sidstycken.com

"highly competent performance... the audience, thoroughly entertained, eats willingly from the ensemble's generous hands. The humor and seriousness are portioned out so effectively that we finally realize that with the comedic sugar spoon we have also taken in a good portion of existential medicine." / blog auditorius.wordpress.com