One of foremost Swedish playwrights and directors Mattias Andersson’s The Mental States of Sweden in Dance is the first work he created for Cullberg. The piece is a continuation of Andersson’s acclaimed documentary theater research project The Mental States of Gothenburg and The Mental States of Sweden.
As in these previous works, the starting point is a comprehensive documentary interview project in collaboration with sociologists and researchers. People from different social backgrounds, from the north to the south of Sweden, are asked “Is there a special event in your life that you would like to see danced by Sweden’s leading dance company?” The show is developed and structured around the answers that were received, making The Mental States of Sweden in Dance a sociological and aesthetic snapshot of Swedish society as it is currently constituted.
“It is very inspiring to work with dancers in this context. Many of my most important performing arts experiences have been dance performances. I also hope to further develop my thoughts on the body, space, reality, fiction and how a person’s life story can be transformed into dramatic performance”
– Mattias Andersson.
Mattias Andersson
Mattias Andersson started his theatrical documentary investigation with the show The Mental States of Gothenburg at Angered Theatre in 2006. In 2013, The Royal Dramatic Theatre followed up with The Mental States of Sweden.
Mattias Andersson works as a playwright and director, and in 2006 was named the artistic director of Backa Theatre, part of Gothenburg City Theatre. Mattias Andersson’s plays have been represented at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm City Theater, Gothenburg City Theatre, Malmö City Theatre and internationally in Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Russia, Romania, Italy and Serbia.
In 2006 Mattias Andersson was nominated for the Nordic Playwrights’ Prize. He was awarded the Swedish Ibsen Prize in 2007 for his work of Crime and Punishment performed at the Backa Theatre. It also earned him the Expressen Theatre Award 2007, the Swedish Theatre Critics Award 2007 and was nominated for Dagens Nyheter Cultural Prize. Lille Kung Mattias performed at Backa Theatre was awarded the Swedish Theatre Critics prize in 2009. The radio-drama version of Crime and Punishment earned him the international Prix Marulic in 2010. Andersson was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet’s Thalia Prize in 2013. Many of Mattias Andersson’s plays have also been invited to international festivals in Belgrade, Washington, Cologne and Helsinki. Between 2015/2016 his version of Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot was played at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. In the spring of 2016, he created The Misfits, an international co-production with the European theater network Prospero. In autumn 2016 Andersson directed Deformed Persona at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, and in autumn 2017 Uppenbarelsen.
World premiere September 8, 2017 at Elverket, Stockholm. The Mental States of Sweden in Dance is a co-production with The Royal Dramatic Theatre/Dramaten.
