{"id":709,"date":"2025-04-24T07:13:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T07:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/31\/?p=709"},"modified":"2026-05-21T17:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T17:37:56","slug":"two-stages-one-vision-stefan-larssons-adaptation-of-ibsens-little-eyolf-in-sweden-and-cyprus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/31\/two-stages-one-vision-stefan-larssons-adaptation-of-ibsens-little-eyolf-in-sweden-and-cyprus\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Stages, One Vision: Stefan Larsson\u2019s Adaptation of Ibsen\u2019s Little Eyolf<\/em> in Sweden and Cyprus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maria Hamali<\/strong>*<\/a> and Maria Sehopoulou<\/strong>**<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This essay examines Stefan Larsson\u2019s acclaimed adaptation of Henrik Ibsen\u2019s Little Eyolf<\/font>, which premiered at Sweden\u2019s Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in 2024 before being restaged at the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC) in 2025. Larsson\u2019s contemporary adaptation relocates the drama from nineteenth-century Norwegian fjords to modern settings in Sweden and Cyprus respectively, employing innovative stagecraft including live cinematography and rotating stages. The cross-cultural collaboration reveals how canonical theatrical texts acquire renewed relevance when refracted through different linguistic and cultural contexts. The production\u2019s success in both Scandinavian and Mediterranean settings demonstrates the universal resonance of Ibsen\u2019s exploration of marital dissolution, grief, and psychological intimacy, whilst highlighting the transformative potential of transnational theatrical practice.

Keywords: <\/strong>cross-cultural theatre, contemporary Ibsen, cultural adaptation, transnational theatre, Stefan Larsson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henrik Ibsen, Norway\u2019s most celebrated playwright, ranks among the world\u2019s most frequently staged dramatists. This is particularly true in Scandinavian countries, where he is hailed as a leading figure of the Modern Breakthrough movement. Nevertheless, his theatrical canon reveals significant disparities in performance frequency, with several works remaining considerably less produced than others of his canonical masterpieces.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Livia Millhagen (Rita), Irene Lindh (Grandmother), Erik Ehn (Alfred), Hannes Meidal (Per) and Karin Franz K\u00f6rlof (Asta) in Little Eyolf<\/em> at Dramaten (2024). Photo: Courtesy of Dramaten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sweden\u2019s national theatre, the Royal Dramatic Theatre (commonly called Dramaten), has mounted forty-eight productions of his works since 1908. Given this extensive history of Ibsen productions, it is remarkable that Little Eyolf<\/em> only received its premiere at Dramaten in 2024. Although Little Eyolf<\/em> is classified among Ibsen\u2019s mature realistic plays, it is regarded as one of his most enigmatic and challenging plays. The drama centers on the rapid decline of Alfred and Rita Allmers\u2019 marriage as they struggle with the burden of guilt over their son Eyolf\u2019s accident and tragic death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its composition, Little Eyolf<\/em> has perplexed Ibsen critics, who have questioned both its structural framework and the narrative progression of the final act, particularly the abrupt transformation that Rita and Alfred undergo in the play\u2019s finale. Especially in the epilogue, where the words and gestures of Rita and Alfred fade away as if muted against the gathering dusk, the performance appeared static and anti-dramatic to critics (Helland 244). However, the author\u2019s modernist sensibility required neither thunderous climaxes nor tragic catastrophes as its culmination; after all, death has already visited the Allmers\u2019 family at the close of the first act, and the remainder of the work is built upon the subsequent internal fractures within the characters (Caretti 72). Here, Ibsen deliberately refuses to conform to the established theatrical conventions of the nineteenth century, which demanded shocking developments in the final moments (de Figueiredo 589). Meanwhile, the philosophical tenor of the work seems to hover between dramatic genres, with its ironic undertones and exploration of inner psychological anguish. Consequently, Little Eyolf<\/em> prefigures the dramaturgy of the twentieth century, marking a significant shift from traditional theatrical expectations toward a more introspective and psychologically nuanced form of drama (Moi 196\u201398).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Erik Ehn (Alfred) and Livia Millhagen (Rita) in Little Eyolf <\/em>at Dramaten (2024). <\/em>Photo: Courtesy of Dramaten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Given the play\u2019s infrequent production history in Sweden, Stefan Larsson\u2019s decision to tackle this challenging play represents both an artistic risk and an opportunity to introduce Swedish audiences to Ibsen\u2019s introspective late drama. Director Stefan Larsson undertook both to translate and direct Little Eyolf<\/em> for the production at Dramaten, ultimately creating his own distinctive adaptation. He relocates the narrative from Ibsen\u2019s Norwegian fjords to the Swedish archipelago, where Alfred\u2019s journey of self-discovery unfolds among the interconnected islands, while transposing the temporal setting from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Recognized as one of Sweden\u2019s most distinguished theatre directors, Larsson has earned acclaim for his ability to create productions that resonate with both audiences and critics alike. His extensive body of work includes notable productions of Henrik Ibsen\u2019s Rosmersholm<\/em> (Dramaten 2013) and Ingmar Bergman\u2019s Scenes from a Marriage<\/em> (Dramaten 2009), experiences that proved instrumental in shaping his interpretive approach to Little Eyolf<\/em>. Moreover, while serving as artistic director of Det Nationale Scene in Bergen (2020\u201323), he enlisted acclaimed German director Michael Thalheimer to stage Little Eyolf<\/em> for Norwegian theatergoers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Larsson also directed The Wild Duck<\/em> at Dramaten in 2000, it is Rosmersholm<\/em> and Little Eyolf<\/em> that he sees as a uniquely compelling pair within Ibsen\u2019s canon. These two rarely staged works, he notes, share striking thematic affinities. \u201cThey are more morbid,\u201d Larsson observes, \u201cwith hints of incest, rich in symbolism in their structure, and charged with an underlying Freudian tension.\u201d For him, these plays stand apart, not only for their psychological depth and unsettling atmospheres but also for how they resist easy interpretation (Savvinidis \u201cStefan Larsson\u201d). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larsson\u2019s rich directorial portfolio includes three notable productions of Ingmar Bergman\u2019s plays: Autumn Sonata<\/em>, Scenes from a Marriage<\/em>, and Fanny and Alexander<\/em>. The first two were staged at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in 2009, while Fanny and Alexander<\/em> premiered in 2010 at the Aarhus Theatre in Denmark, where Larsson was serving as artistic director at the time. The production was later brought to Dramaten in 2012. In addition to directing Bergman\u2019s works, Larsson also acted in several of the legendary filmmaker\u2019s stage productions. During the mid-1980s, he appeared in King Lear<\/em> (1984) and Hamlet<\/em> (1986) and later took on the role of Mortimer in Schiller\u2019s Maria Stuart<\/em> (2000) (Dufna).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before his death, Bergman personally encouraged Larsson to direct Little Eyolf<\/em>. However, to the then-young Larsson, Ibsen\u2019s work seemed peculiar and distant. Yet personal experiences and the traumatic ordeal of losing a child later brought him much closer to the themes of loss and grief that permeate the play.[1]<\/sup><\/a> Beyond his personal experience, which brought distinctive weight to his interpretation of Ibsen\u2019s work, Larsson sought to illuminate how \u201cdisaster forces the married couple to get to know each other again\u201d (Lundstr\u00f6m 5). This exploration of catastrophe as a catalyst for renewed intimacy\u2014or perhaps painful recognition\u2014became central to his directorial vision, transforming the tragedy of loss into an opportunity for profound marital excavation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Larsson eventually chose to embrace the challenge of adapting Ibsen\u2019s enigmatic work,[2]<\/sup><\/a> he perceived it as \u201ca kind of Scenes from a Marriage<\/em>, strangely timeless and modern\u201d (T\u00f6rner). Critics recognized this internal connection to his direction of Bergman\u2019s work,[3]<\/sup><\/a> noting that \u201cthe intensity lies in the encounters between the lead roles, which stylishly nods to Larsson\u2019s powerful production of Scenes from a Marriage<\/em> on the same stage in 2009\u201d (Arvas). This observation underscores how Larsson\u2019s directorial approach creates thematic continuity between his interpretations of both Ibsen and Bergman, drawing upon similar explorations of marital dissolution and psychological intimacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate this intimacy more effectively, the production employs live camera work, with successive close-ups projected onto the scenic design consisting of two distinct spaces: a living room and a bathroom. The austere minimalism of these two sets, characterized by their stark white walls that alternate using a revolving stage, provides an effective canvas for both the actors themselves and their live cinematographic projections.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Erik Ehn (Alfred) and Livia Millhagen (Rita) in Little Eyolf <\/em>at Dramaten (2024). <\/em>Photo: Courtesy of Dramaten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Larsson masterfully orchestrates the fluid interplay between cinematic projections and live theatrical action. As the stage rotates, audiences are drawn first into the intimacy of magnified facial expressions captured on film, before witnessing the seamless transition as the same actors materialize in person, emerging through the doorway to continue the scene in three-dimensional reality. This dual visual approach creates a layered theatrical experience whereby audiences simultaneously witness the performers\u2019 physical presence and their magnified emotional expressions, blurring the boundaries between live theatre and cinematic intimacy. The stark simplicity of the white-walled environments serves not merely as a backdrop but also as a neutral space that amplifies both the raw immediacy of live performance and the heightened emotional detail captured by the camera.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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