Arnes Längtan

Arne's story moves from book and film to the theatre stage. When we meet him - played by Josef Säterhagen - he is 83 years old and lives in an earthen dugout with his 12 cats. He insists there is nowhere more cosy to live than in his "compost heap", not even a castle.

The performance is built on Arne Ottosson's own words, drawn from interviews conducted by Åke Moqvist for his book "De Ovanliga" and from Staffan Winbergh's film "Med ett ben i evigheten". On stage, Arne reflects on Jesus's words, the aunt who hugged him at the nursing home and from whom he heard the voice that frightened his friend Kruska. He dreams of freeing himself from purchased electricity and getting his own gang, and he reasons about the strategies of commercialism and an education system that teaches to compete rather than to live. The result is an encounter where a "wordless" person gets to express his understanding of the world.

In the foyer, an exhibition of newspaper articles and photographs frames the performance.

Performed by and with Josef Säterhagen. Based on interviews by Åke Moqvist for his book "De Ovanliga". Director: Niklas Falk. Music: Anders Peev.