Astrid och Elsa Olenius

The Plays

“Elsa turned me into a playwright." You cannot write about Astrid Lindgren’s plays without first telling the reader about the librarian, Elsa Olenius. Elsa was working at promoting good children’s literature and culture, and had started up an amateur theatre for children, called Our Theatre. She asked Astrid to write some children’s plays for her to use. In 1946 Astrid wrote her first play for this theatre – a one-act criminal comedy. After that she continued writing plays for them, about Pippi Longstocking and Kalle Blomkvist, Master Detective, amongst others.

Over the years, many have wanted to create their own dramatizations of Astrid Lindgren's books. In preserved letters that Astrid herself wrote to various directors and scriptwriters, one gets a clear impression that she was quite meticulous about what was acceptable and what was not. She wrote her books the way she wanted them, and she wrote her plays to reflect the books. She strongly disliked others attempting to develop her stories. "You get the material, and then the imagination starts playing, and you build on that. But I think one should refrain from that. Feel free to remove a bunch of things, but do not add anything that changes the character of the book." After seeking expert advice from the head of Stockholm's Children's Theatre and having seen numerous productions of her own plays, Astrid believed she knew quite well what she was talking about. Those who did not want to adhere to her rules were simply advised to abandon their project.

Quotes

“Mankind is preoccupied with two great things: death and love; these catch the interest of all ages. You shouldn’t scare children to the point of anxiety, but just like adults they need to be moved by art.”

Astrid Lindgren, Dagens Nyheter, 8th September 1959

Do you want to stage a play by Astrid Lindgren?

For anyone putting up a play for a public audience, knowing that no one else is doing the same or a similar piece at the same time is crucial to avoid unnecessary competition. To keep track of all requests and rights, we turn to publishing houses specialised in theatre plays. They have all the approved scripts and whomever wants to put up a play can get expect good support in the process of choosing the right script.