The Patron's Return - a hastily produced comedy without state funding

A dark comedy about money, power, and Swedish culture - written and directed by Gertrud Larsson, starring herself, Anna-Lena Efverman, and Jenny Svenberg. The production draws on the parliamentary debate about the cultural budget on 4 December 2024 and moves through a landscape of homemade bombs, sudden death, and privatisation in its rawest form, with music drawn from skillingtryck ballads, Tchaikovsky, and spiritual classics.

Following sold-out runs at Teater Brunnsgatan Fyra in spring and autumn 2025, the production is now touring Sweden. The Höganäs stop is part of a tour that in spring 2026 visits Eskilstuna, Växjö, Lund, Oskarshamn, Kalmar, Malmö, Ystad, Karlstad, Umeå, Sundsvall, Örnsköldsvik, Härnösand, Norrköping, and Falun - with additional performances at the Almedalsveckan festival in Visby in June and in Göteborg and Jönköping in September.

In summer 2025, Gertrud Larsson debated cultural minister Parisa Liljestrand on the culture pages of Expressen about the financing of culture - a subject the production does not leave alone.

The press has received it well: "Sharp satire on the conditions of artists" (Sara Granath, SvD), "A laugh fest!" (Lisa Bergström, P1 Kultur), "Humour without safety belts and lifelines" (David Färdigh, Smålandsposten), and "Gertrud Larsson gets the whole room roaring with laughter" (Selma Brodrej, ETC).

Script and direction: Gertrud Larsson. Graphic design and trailer: Jenny Svenberg. Stage photography: Alina Harmash.