Theatre, 1945

The Pelican

Despite the proximity of Malmö and Helsingborg, some local reviewers seemed to have just discovered Ingmar Bergman as a director.

'Ingmar Bergman is not only a fellow who understands how to advertise himself. He is apparently a talented director.'
Allan Bergstrand, Malmö Arbetet

About the production

When Ingmar Bergman was invited as a guess director to the Malmö Municipal Theatre in 1945, he chose to present Strindberg's The Pelican, even though the same play had been produced in Hälsingborg the preceding season. On that occasion Bergman had given a short speech to the audience at a special performance arranged for the press on Strindberg's birthday, 22 January. However, he uses the occasion to argue for increasing public support for the theatre among the Helsingborg citizenry, adding that 'proclaimers of human and artistic truth who have no audience are like a broken record player at the bottom of the sea.'

Sources

  • The Ingmar Bergman Archives.
  • Birgitta Steene, Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide (Amsterdam University Press, 2005).
  • Henrik Sjögren, Lek och raseri: Ingmar Bergmans teater 1938-2002 (Stockholm: Carlssons Bokförlag, 2002).

Collaborators

  • Stina Ståhle, The mother
  • Anders Ek, The son
  • Inga Bucht, The daughter
  • Eric Malmberg, The son-in-law
  • Jullan Kindahl, Margret
  • August Strindberg, Author
  • Ingmar Bergman, Director
  • Martin Ahlbom, Designer