Teatern Under Bron is a new theatre in Stockholm, and well, the name says it all. It’s located under the Liljeholms Bron, on the Hornstull side. The theatre will be a more open air experience than the standard play-going trip, and there will food available from Flippin’ Burgers. Vapenvila, the first play to be performed, kicks off on Friday and we met the brains behind the project and the actor performing, Rennie Mirro, to learn more.

So where did the idea for Teatern Under Bron originally come from?

It’s an idea that my companion (Filip Adamo) and I had during a late night dinner. It was a combination of an idea I had for a performance and an idea he had for doing something different. So the two ideas combined and became Teatern Under Bron

So a pop-up theatre isn’t exactly something you see every day. So what exactly is the set-up here?

First of all, the location is under a bridge down by Hornstull. And it gives us a remote space, where we can be on our own, but also out in the open. It was also an idea to do something different in terms of the theatre experience, and to offer something that isn’t really around.

Is it an attempt to take the snobbishness out of theatre? You said that if you were a music style you’d be punk.

Right. The punk idea is more that we do things our own way, the way we want it. Not according to the usual rules. Everyone is invited, we want to embrace anybody who wants to come along. Unfortunately we have to charge, but in the future we’re hoping to have more funds and if we get more funds in the future the cheaper we can make it.

Do you think it’s nice to have theatre out of the formal settings where it usually happens?

Yeah, I do! To be able to go to the theatre, without having to go through all the stuff that theatre usually is. Maybe this means that people can do it a little more spontaneously, and it doesn’t have to be such a planned event. Which would be nice. And it’s also for us as theatre people, to be able to do this in different circumstances [than a usual play].

And can you tell us a little about the play, Vapenvila?

It’s called Vapenvila, ‘Truce’ in English. It’s a newly written monologue, by Fredrik Virtanen, and it’s about an arms dealer and his moral conundrums, and way of getting through life. A short section of his life, we’re looking though a section of his life briefly, and how he justifies his very questionable actions, by basically blaming everybody else. And eventually he comes to the conclusion that he bears the responsibility for his actions.

Kind of about someone working through their own morality?

Yeah, it is. A crash course in it, a therapy session! I guess you could call it the breakthrough in a therapy session.

Theodor Arvidsson Kylin from the band Colleagues is behind the music, what does he bring to the project?

We had the great fortune of crossing paths through mutual friends. And our idea initially was just to have him write one or two tracks, which we could use as theme motifs. But as soon as we met him it became apparent that it would be great to have him more involved in the whole process, because he had so many great ideas from the get go. The plan we eventually landed on was that he was going to DJ and play live, and that he would actually be a part of the monologue, be what you might call my shadow. Somebody who sets the temperature for whatever’s being said on stage. And it turned out fantastically. He’s written some unbelievably beautiful pieces of music, that really elevate the whole feeling that we want to have. The space is very raw and his music brings a lot of warmth, a lot of depth and a lot of meaning to a piece that is otherwise very dark. So it’s a great collaboration. We were totally lucky.

Do you think that’s another way you’ve broken from the norms of normal theatre? Someone from the indie music world isn’t usually the kind of person who’d be asked to work on the music for a play.

Hopefully we have. I’m sure somebody’s done it before, but maybe this is our own twist on it. Also, in terms of the way we’ve worked with him, it’s been a fantastic process with our director. Sofia Ledarp, Theo and I sat in the studio and read our lines, and together we came up with the temperature of every scene. So the process was really fun. We could actually write a play about us three in studio writing the play!

Any final comments to people who might be interested in coming to the play?

I think it’s going to be a really nice theatre experience, in a different environment. Whether or not you even like the play, you’re going to have a good time. We have great food to offer to. And also with Swedish weather like it is, no matter the weather you’ll still be dry! So yeah, come on down!

Vapenvila opening night, Aug 19 @ 1700

Vapenvila runs until Sep 4. For more information and to buy tickets, go to to www.teaternunderbron.se