Entertaining Bad Vibes is a conversation series and podcast born out of a longing for deepened discussions within Swedish theater and intersections between the stage, theory, and other aesthetic fields. Today's theme: What We Talk About When We Talk About Theater.

Approximate time: 90 minutes
Language: Swedish/English

How is the conversation climate and theater criticism in Theater Sweden? What is lacking, what is needed? What was it that chafed so much with the spring's drama debate?
In the first episode of the conversation series Entertaining Bad Vibes, Moderator Johanna Malm (actor and performance artist) talks with Olof Runsten (director) and Mikaela Blomqvist (critic) about what we talk about when we talk about theater; about conceptual confusion, accessibility, and disdain for education. We look back at the drama debate that raged this spring and reflect on the attitudes, tendencies, and problems that were expressed in it.

Mikaela Blomqvist is a literature and theater critic, based in Gothenburg. Together with Lyra Eriksson Lindbäck, she runs the podcast Gästabudet.

Olof Runsten is a director and playwright. His work is characterized by a strong audiovisual language and close collaborations with other artists. Runsten's performances are often constructed as series of images that shift through cuts and blackouts, creating meaning together. They move between suggestive situations, horror, and humor in unpredictable ways, and his work is often described as hypnotic. Previous productions include Marthas Hus, Seasons och Bergfiktioner. His latest work, Norma Jeane Baker of Troy (written by Anne Carson), premiered at Inkonst 2025. Olof Runsten also runs the production platform Dramageddon.

About Entertaining Bad Vibes

Entertaining Bad Vibes is a conversation series and podcast born out of a longing for deepened discussions within Swedish theater and intersections between the stage, theory, and other aesthetic fields. It is a container for critical conversations dedicated to topics that are often associated with something negative in a Swedish (theater) context, such as critical thinking, resistance, economic relations, institutional criticism, or intellectualism.

In a time of historically low state support for free culture, widespread cultural and educational disdain, and accelerating instrumentalization, Entertaining Bad Vibes aims to be a discursive anchor that makes room for difficult conversations in an accessible format. The series' episodes are concentrated around a specific theme that sometimes explicitly deals with some aspect of (Swedish) theater life and sometimes relates to broader cultural and theoretical expressions. The participants are assembled so that different areas of knowledge and positions can enter into dialogue with each other, not based on a naive idea of "having the debate" but to create a space where different perspectives and expertise can raise the bar of the conversation. The conversations take place once a month over three evenings in the fall and will be available afterward as a podcast.

The conversation series is project-led and moderated by Johanna Malm, actor and performing artist. .

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CREDS

Johanna Malm: project leader and moderator