Astrid Lindgren's plays are a number of theater plays written by Astrid Lindgren in the 1940s to 1970s. Part of the plays are based on her books, other stories were only written for theater. Since almost all of Astrid Lindgren's works have been staged for theater, this page only deals with the plays, whose scripts were written by Astrid Lindgren. Many of these works were published in the Swedish books Sex Pjäser för barn och ungdom (1950), Serverat, Ers Majestät! (1955) and Praeser för barn och ungdom. Other Samlingen (1968). Most of these works have not been translated into English. These include stories about well-known characters such as Kalle Blomquist or Pippi Longstocking, which were only written for the theater and were not published as prose.
Plays Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd och Vicke på Vind Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd och Vicke på Vind (Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd and Vicke på Vind) is a play by Astrid Lindgren.
Characters Kalle Blomkvist Anders Bengtsson Eva-Lotta Lisander Benka Forsberg Jonte Sixtus Hilda Krikonblad Hulda Krikonblad Nisse Nöjd Vicke på Vind Police officer Rudolf Rask
Plot Kalle, Anders and Eva-Lotta of the White Rose are fighting with the Red Rose (Benka, Jonte and Sixtus) for the Stormumriken, a magical stone. One day the musicians Nisse Nöjd and Vicke på Vind arrive at the town. They want to earn money by making music, but they earn not enough. They decide to kidnap Hulda, the kind-hearted aunt of Kalle, who lives in a villa with her rich sister Hilda. They want to extort money from the rich Hilda. Instead of kidnapping Hulda, they kidnap Hilda, but she causes them some difficulties, tries to fight them off, throws the kidnappers' dishes onto the floor, etc. In addition, her sister Hulda cannot raise the money required to get Hilda back from the kidnappers. Kalle tries to find the kidnappers but is soon also caught and locked up along with Hilda. Meanwhile, the members of the White Rose and the Red Rose try to help Hulda. They finally manage to find the kidnappers' hiding place and are able to set Kalle and Hilda free. The kidnappers are taken into custody by the police.
Overview In 1948 Astrid Lindgren wrote the play, which premiered at the Vår Teater in Stockholm in 1950. In 1966 the Swedish film Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist på nya äventyr was released, which is based on the play. In 1968 the play was published in the book Pjäser för barn och ungdom. andra samlingen. Even 60 years after its first publication, the play is still shown on Swedish theater stages. The play was performed under various titles: Kalle Blomkvist, Nisse Nöjd och Vicke på Vind and Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist på nya äventyr. A short version of the play was later released which was called Som dom gör i Amerika in America. The play is an independent story about Kalle Blomkvist and has not been translated into English.
Reception Dramadirekt believed that, in contrast to the darker undertones of the books, the play is more of a satirical nature. In addition, the children stand for responsibility and reason, while the adults are presented as selfish or naive. Carina Bergius of Södermanlands Nyheter praised the strong dialogues of the play and also thought that the play makes the audience smile and laugh.
Som dom gör i Amerika in America Som dom gör i Amerika in America (How they do it in America) is the short version of the play in one act. Kalle Blomquist and his friends do not appear in this version of the play. In this play, the street musicians Nisse and Vicke want to kidnap Hulda in order to extort money from her rich sister. Hulda calls for the police. The police officer Rask catches the criminals in front of the house. The kidnappers are stopped before they can kidnap anyone. This version of the play differs significantly from the original version. Som dom gör i Amerika was published in 1984 in the Swedish book Barnteater i en akt by Ingvar Holm & Ulla-Britt Janzon.
Mästerdetektiven Kalle Blomkvist: För kasperteater två korta akter Mästerdetektiven Kalle Blomkvist: För kasperteater två korta akter (Master detective Kalle Blomkvist: For the Kaspertheater in two short acts) is a play by Astrid Lindgren.
Characters Kalle Blomkvist, 13-years-old Police officer Björk Mrs. Frida Fagerlund Bank robber
Plot Police officer Björk is looking for the master detective Kalle Blomkvist, as all the money in the bank has been stolen by a thief.
An hour earlier, a masked man with a gun had robbed the bank. He had pointed the gun to the cashier and had forced the cashier to give him all the money.
Björk asks Kalle to help him to catch the thief. Kalle believes that the thief has disguised himself so that the police cannot recognize him. According to Kalle, the thief could even be looking like an old lady.
Suddenly an old lady named Frida Fagerlund arrives. She is holding a huge bag, which is big enough to hide the money from robbery. Therefore Kalle thinks the lady is the thief. It also looks like Mrs. Fagerlund is wearing a wig. Kalle believes that it is the thief, dressed up as an old lady. He decides to sneak up and pull the wig off Frida Fagerlund's head, but as soon as he pulls the hair, he realizes that the hair is real. Mrs. Fagerlund is angry and decides to go to the police and tell them about Kalle, who also decides to look for Björk.
Meanwhile the bank robber sneaks through the streets. Björk recognises him and wants to stop him, but the bank robber threatens him with his pistol. While Björk tries to distract the bank robber, Kalle sneaks up from behind. Kalle manages to take the gun away from the bank robber, who then runs away, and Kalle and Björk run after him. Then Mrs. Fagerlund suddenly comes around the corner. The bank robber runs straight to her and knocks her down, while he falls over her. Kalle and Björk, who are right behind him, also fall down. The bank robber lies under them. He says he is giving up and Björk arrests the bank robber.
Overview Astrid Lindgren wrote the puppetry play in the 1950s. In 1955 the play was published in the Swedish book Serverat, Ers Majestät!, by Lindgren's friend Elsa Olenius, a pioneer in children's theater.Martin Hellström (2015): Pippi på scen. Astrid Lindgren och teatern. Hslmstad: Makadam. P. 18 She had previously staged some of Lindgren's plays, including plays about Pippi Longstocking. The story was not translated into English.
Serverat, Ers Majestät! Serverat, Ers Majestät! (Served, Your Majesty!) is a play by Astrid Lindgren.
Characters King Princess Blendagull Kitchen boy Vicke Vire Count Gyllenbubbla Count Silverpluska Witch Court ladies Courtiers
Plot The counts Gyllenbubbla and Silverpluska want to overthrow the king. They hope that the witch in the forest can help them. The witch gives them an enchanted pill. They want to put the pill into a cake for the king. As soon as the king will have eaten the cake, he should fall asleep and then do everything that he is told. The counts want to throw the king into prison. Then one of them is supposed to marry Princess Blendagull and become king, but they don't know which of them. Their plans are overheard by the Princess Blendagull and the kitchen boy Vicke Vire. While Princess Blendagull reports everything she has heard to her father, the king, Vicke goes to the witch, who gives Vicke two pills that can reveal lies and falsehood. Later the counts give the cake with the pill to the king. The king eats the cake, but secretly spits out the pill. In the meantime, the counts each eat a piece of cake with Vicke's fake pills. Then the king pretends to snore loudly. The counts wake him up. They believe that the pill has had its intended effect and want to put the king in jail. The king plays along and follows the counts, but Vicke has already contacted the courtiers. They release the king and capture the counts. When the king threatens to shoot the counts, they start to cry and tell the king that it was just a joke. Just when they say that, they shout cuckoo, because now Vicke's pills have had their effect, and they have to say cuckoo every time they lie. In the end the king forgives the counts. He employs Count Silverpluska as the treasurer and Count Gyllenbubbla as the accountant. He will never be able to get more loyal and honest servants. The smallest falsehoods and lies are immediately revealed by their cuckoo calls.
Overview Astrid Lindgren wrote the play and is around 45 minutes long. In 1965 the play was recorded and shown on SVT1. In 1968 the play was published in the book Pjäser för barn och ungdom. andra samlingen by Rabén & Sjögren. Even 60 years after its first publication, the play is still shown on Swedish theater stages. The play was also translated into other languages, such as Finnish, or Danish, but it was not translated into English.
En fästmö till låns En fästmö till låns (A fiancee to borrow) is a play by Astrid Lindgren.
Characters Julius Julén Tant Eufemia Karin Vinge Harald Engberg Julia Jönsson
Plot Julius Julén studies ornithology. The study is financed by his aunt Eufemia, but she wants Julius to get married soon. Therefore, she explained to him that she would only continue to finance him, if he found a fiancée before the age of 25, but Julius is already 25 years old and his aunt puts him under pressure. Therefore, he writes to her that his roommate Karin Vinge is his fiancé, without telling Karin about it. Then Aunt Eufemia announces her visit. Julius reports to Karin on what he did, but Karin is not enthusiastic about it, especially because she already has a fiancé, Harald Engberg. Nevertheless, she tries to support Julius, but he could not tell Karin about everything he wrote to his aunt, so there are some misunderstandings. The situation becomes even more complicated when Karin's fiancée Harald arrives. In addition, Julius friend Julia comes for a visit and repeatedly tries to attract Julius' attention.
When Julia hears that Julius got engaged to Karin, she is shocked. Julia explains that she always thought Julius was different from all the other men and that she had always liked him, but now she is horrified because he stole Harald's fiancé. Julius says that he is not engaged to Karin and the two continue to talk. Julius realizes that Julia comes pretty close to his idea of a dream woman. She plays the harp and loves birds just like him. He asks her to marry him, which she agrees to do. Just as the two are hugging, Aunt Eufemia comes into the room. She is horrified that her nephew is flirting with two women at the same time. Julius explains that he only loves Julia and Karin is interested in Harald. Aunt Eufemia now accepts the engagement of Julia and Julius.
Overview Astrid Lindgren wrote the play in the 1940s and is around 60 minutes long. In 1950 it was first published in the book Sex Pjäser för barn och ungdom by Rabén & Sjögren. Even 60 years after its first publication, the play is still shown on Swedish theater stages. In addition, the play was translated into other languages, for example into Romanian, or Finnish, but it was not translated into English.
Reception The editors of Ålandstidningen believed that En fästmö till lans is a well-played comedy play with beautiful musical and dancing elements, and also makes the audience laugh.
Huvudsaken är att man är frisk Huvudsaken är att man är frisk (The main thing is that you are healthy) is a play by Astrid Lindgren.
Characters Monika, a 16-year-old girl Lena, a 16-year-old girl Nobban, Lena's 11-year-old sister Göran, Lena's and Nobban's 18-year-old brother Klas, Göran's 18-year-old friend Fritjof Karlsson-Rask-Fagerlund, a robber Överkonstapel Blomkvist, senior sergeant Konstapel Afredsson, sergeant
Plot