On National Day, it is 500 years since Gustav Vasa was appointed king in Strängnäs. In the cultural world, the anniversary is clearly felt. On theater stages, in podcasts and new books, the king who united and reformed Sweden is thematized.
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Gustav Vasa in text and music
In the musical theater “Fru Marianne and Herr Wasa” which is staged in Strängnäs on National Day, history professor Dick Harrison plays Gustav Vasa.
“I think it’s fun to put on a show for it,” he says to Svenska Dagbladet.
The script has been written by the opera singer Charlotta Huldt and the music is composed by the Royal Opera’s Kapellmeister Eric Skarby.
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Amateur theater about Vasa
In connection with the 500th anniversary of Gustav Vasa’s coronation, the performance “Gustav Vasa in Svärdsjö” is staged at Gammelgården in Svärdsjö, a few miles outside Falun. The plot revolves around Gustav Vasa’s escape in Dalarna. Theresia Holmstedt Jensen is responsible for the script and direction.
In the past, the amateur actors have been successful with the show and played to sold-out audiences at the summer theater in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
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Vasa in novel form
The author Marit Furn debuted in 2016 with the novel “The Shadow”, where she literary played with Strindberg’s inferno crisis. In her new novel, “Den förste”, she takes on another Swedish giant: Gustav Vasa. The main character Erik buys a farm in Dalarna and puts on a grand play about the Swedish king.
Marit Furn thematizes issues such as culture, heritage, loneliness and power by drawing parallels between today’s and 16th century Sweden.
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New novel suite about Vasa
Thriller author Gustaf Skördeman switches to historical novels with “Vasa – the rebel”. It is the first in a series of novels about the life of the Swedish king. In “Vasa – the rebel” the reader meets the young Gustav Eriksson Vasa in 1518, when he tries to get a position at the court around Sten Sture. The novel series will depict “how modern Sweden began to form”.
Gustaf Skördeman. Press photo.
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Herman Lindqvist returns to Vaasa
In “Why him? The story of Gustav Vasa and his time” the author Herman Lindqvist returns to Gustav Vasa. He now depicts the bitter power struggle that preceded Gustav Vasa’s coronation. Herman Lindqvist’s book is a portrait of both Gustav Vasa and the era in which he lived.
Herman Lindqvist. Archive image.
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AI-Vasa in “The Yard”
Kristoffer Triumf launches a special episode of the interview podcast ” The recruit “. Guest is none other than Gustav Vasa, or at least an AI version of the king.
“Of course, the idea was sparked when everyone started talking about AI. With Chat GPT and the big anniversary around Gustav Vasa, it felt so fun to try,” says Kristoffer Triumf in a press release.
Christopher Triumph. Archive image.
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More podcast about Vasa
In the episode “Gustav Vasa writes letters – bold, sharp and powerful” of the podcast ” An unexpected story ” the two historians Olle Larsson and Andreas Marklund talk about the king’s letter. Letter writing was an important part of Gustav Vasa’s exercise of power and the podcast gives examples of what characterized the king’s art of presentation.