Ylva Olaison – Kristian Hallberg – Tobias Hagström Ståhl

Country: Sweden
Gothenburg Dance and Theatre FestivalTeatr Powszechny Warsaw

Biographies

Ylva Olaison

Ylva Olaison is an actress, director, and producer based in Gothenburg, whose work moves fluidly between theatre, film, and television. Educated at the Academy of Music and Drama and the Film School in Gothenburg, she has appeared on leading Swedish stages such as the City Theatres in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and Folkteatern, while also establishing a strong presence in film and TV. Since 2012, Ylva has co-led the production company ÖGAT Film with Jonathan Silén,
Anton Källrot, and Lovisa Lilienberg Tosti. Together, they create bold, cross-disciplinary works that blur the boundaries between film, theatre, and performance art. ÖGAT’s second feature film will premiere in 2026, with Ylva as both producer and lead actress. Ylva initiated the acclaimed performance K, which premiered at Folkteatern and was selected for the Swedish Performing Arts Biennale 2023 and Swedstage 2024, with over 70 performances across Sweden to outstanding reviews.

Kristian Hallberg

Kristian Hallberg is one of Sweden’s most performed playwrights, based in Stockholm. He graduated from the Dramatic Institute in 2010 and has since had plays performed around Sweden and Europe. He won the Medea Award as playwright of the year in 2016 and the Swedish Ibsen Award in 2019. Since 2021, he has been artistic director at Månteatern in Lund.

Tobias Hagström Ståhl

Tobias Hagström-Ståhl is a director, set designer, and lighting designer based in Stockholm. He was educated at the Dramatic Institute and has been part of the artistic collective SUTODA since his graduation in 2010. Within SUTODA, he has worked on a large number of stages and institutions across the Nordic region, with over 250 productions in total. K is his tenth production as a director. The performance has been staged with great success in Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Malmö.

Portfolio & Latest Theatre Performances : (Productions we have collaborated in)
2014 Teater Galeasen
VARIATION written by Kristian Hallberg
directed & set/light design by Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
2017 Malmö Stadsteater
SKÅNSKA MORD 1989-2015 written by Kristian Hallberg
directed & set/light design by Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
2018 Folkteatern Gbg
OCH NU, VART FAR VI NU? written by Kristian Hallberg
directed by Ögat Film (Ylva Olaison) & Kristian Hallberg
2018 Teater Galeasen
UR SVENSKA HJÄRTANS DJUP written by Kristian Hallberg
directed & set/light design by Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
2024 Göteborgs Stadsteater
HAMLET
set design by Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
actor Ylva Olaison- Horatio
2025 Kulturhuset Stadsteatern
BOXNINGSKLUBBEN written by Kristian Hallberg
directed by Kristian Hallberg light design Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
2025 Teater Halland
TONYA NANCY written by Kristian Hallberg
directed by Ylva Olaison
2027 Folkteatern – coming up
CANCEL MARIA STUART written by Kristian Hallberg
Idea and concept by Kristian Hallberg Tobias Hagström-Ståhl Ylva Olaison
Directed by Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
Actor Ylva Olaison (Maria Stuart)

K

Concept of the Performance:
« K » is a monologue based on Katarina Frostenson’s acclaimed book of the same name. It depicts the time from when K’s husband is accused of sexual assaults until six months later. The monologue explores what it’s like to live with a person already judged in the eyes of the media and the public. The performance is portrayed by Ylva Olaison and accompanied by musician Lovisa Samuelsson. It is a musical and intimate show that provides insight into a life crisis from within and how K handles the situation, her struggle for love, and dignity.
Premiering at Folkteatern in 2022, the monologue K has played over 70 sold-out performances, captivating audiences and earning glowing reviews from critics across Sweden. The show is 90 minutes long.

Artistic Statement 
« K » is one of Sweden’s greatest poets, holding a prominent place among the eighteen chairs in the Swedish Academy. She is one of Sweden’s most celebrated lyricists, praised and elevated. Then comes the explosion. Her husband is accused of serious crimes, and the media frenzy ensues. They fall together. She falls. Hard. K flees from the country S and its bloodthirsty people. What happens to a person in free fall? Can she ever land? She writes to survive, she writes because it becomes her salvation in the fall and she writes to understand the actions in her own life. Theatre is a powerful medium for processing the complexities of human existence. It forces you to confront the immediacy of someone else’s life, as in K’s case, where you cannot resist sensing the person that exists behind the words and maybe she is not as different from you as one might think.