Theatre, 1944

The Hotel Room

Bergman causes a 'nude outrage' in Stockholm when a half-dressed actress walks across the stage.
'If the girl had walked slower, the play would have been longer.'
PGP, Aftonbladet

About the production

The play consisted of a series of episodes in a seedy Parisian hotel room. A number of the young actors, including Sif Ruud and Ingrid Luterkort, were praised for their performances, but when a scantily-clad Siv Thulin sauntered across the stage, the evening papers were outraged.

Bergman gained additional media attention when an offended woman in the audience placed a complaint with the Stockholm police department, because she found several indecent scenes in the production, among them one where a girl pulled off her dress, which was followed by a swift curtain fall. Herbert Grevenius, the critic for Svenska Dagbladet shared this view: 'Is there a theatre banned for children? If not, it's about time.'

Sources

  • The Ingmar Bergman Archives.
  • Birgitta Steene, Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide (Amsterdam University Press, 2005).

Collaborators

  • Sif Ruud, Yvonne
  • Siv Thulin , Yvonne / Gaby
  • Gunnar Nielsen, Louis / Victor
  • Estrid Hesse, Cleaning woman / Lise
  • Karl-Axel Forssberg
  • Rune Stylander, Maurice
  • Curt Edgard, Maurice / Jean
  • Barbro Ribbing, Berthe
  • Ingrid Luterkort, Louise / Catrine
  • Bertil Sjödin, Jean / Arthur
  • Carl Cramér, Arthur
  • Monica Schildt, Marthe
  • Pierre Rocher , Author
  • Ingmar Bergman, Director
  • Gunnar Lindblad, Designer