KABUL STHLM PARIS

Shows at Swedstage in Stockholm on August 29 at 18.00 - Kulturhuset Stadsteatern's stage Kilen.

In 2015 Sweden’s prime minister said, ”My Europe doesn’t build walls, we help each other when the need is great,” when 23,000 unaccompanied children fled from Afghanistan to seek asylum. But after that, the Swedish political need for a ”room to breathe” would become a waiting room for asylum seekers. In this waiting room, many unaccompanied children would reach adulthood, and their chances of obtaining residence permits in Sweden would be lost.


In the performance and exhibition Kabul Sthlm Paris we meet a group of young, Swedish-speaking Afghans who all share the same experience. They had created a life in Sweden, received rejections from the Migration Agency, and were forced to flee once again, and many went to Paris. Once there, they try to establish a new life with a new language in a new social context. Some study, some work.
Many continue to live in uncertainty about their future. Some have been granted residence permits, and many have good chances of obtaining them. Some live on the streets in tent camps. Many long to return to Sweden.
Many have stopped calling Sweden their home.
Since 2021, Angereds Theatre has made several trips to Paris meeting Swedish-Afghan youths who have been forced to flee to France after being deported from Sweden. Their stories collated by the artistic team form the basis of the performance. The locations shown to us inspired the stage setting and exhibition. In continuing work on the performance, Angereds Theatre initiated a creative and inclusive process when in the spring of 2023, an acting course was started for young people with experience in asylum processes and origin from Afghanistan. We reached out to people wanting to share their stories and perform on stage. A group of non-professional actors was formed by the theatre. The course then led to a rehearsal period where two professional actors joined the production. Subsequently, a performance and exhibition was created, premiering in November 2023 at Blå Ställets Konsthall in Gothenburg.

The performance ran between November and January 2023/24, and the exhibition was shown daily to a total of 5,376 visitors in the Art Gallery space next to the theatre. Kabul Sthlm Paris received a warm reception from the public and critical acclaim from the press. Many of those who visited the Art Gallery for both the performance and the exhibition had personal experiences relating to the material, those who didn’t gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Actors: Abo Wejdan, Alexandro Soltani, Alireza Masomi (Haydar), Elin Bornell, Farhad Mohammadi, Farid Tajik, Gabriel Ibrahimi, Javid Davoudi & Otto Båth.

Playwright Kristian Hallberg, Director Johanna Larsson, Scenographer& Costume designer Linda Wallgren, Composer Kristina Issa, Assistant artistic team Alireza Naghavi, Choreographer Fredrika Byman Moberg, Technician & co-creator Otto Båth, Drama pedagogues Erika Modén & Mina Nadolski Friberg, Migration legal advisor Tinna Wejstål & Photographer Nadim Elazzeh.

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