With Sweden in the grip of a cultural crisis, the director of the City Theatre, Maria Sid, is asked to make a statement. The latest uproar was sparked by a change of government and artistic freedom. Who gets to decide what gets shown?
At times, the encounters have made Sid more sensitive, as the city theatre has lived through years of crisis due to the interest rate pandemic, among other things.
– Recently, the public has come to cheer me on. “You’ve had such a hard time. Come on Maria, hang in there!”, says Sid.
According to Sid, the Stockholm City Theatre is very proud to be the city’s own theatre.
– It’s actually very endearing. I remember when I walked into the house with tears in my eyes and thought that they want us to fight for culture.
Before becoming a manager, he had worked in the house as a deputy manager. The first years in the management of the theater were a time of crisis for Sid. The former manager had committed suicide, the theater was closed for two years due to renovations, and in March 2020 the corona pandemic hit.
– I remember the day when the shutdown came. We had a crisis meeting where it was decided that the whole place will now be closed. I went through eight different ensembles, so now you’re going to love it.
Sid says that in times of crisis, art took a back seat in his work. For example, he worked closely with doctors.
– I really learned a lot about medicine. At that time, it was not known how to make it work when there were no vaccines. Every day was a struggle those first years.
Only now, almost three years after the start of the pandemic, is the theater starting to be \”on the side of normal\ according to Sid. He is currently focusing on getting a long-term and sustainable repertoire for the city theater.
– Because of the (Corona) crisis, it was difficult to make sustainable plans, I’m only now able to make them. And they have partly come true: we have obtained rights to works that we would not have believed. Let’s bring the audience back. Now we are on the verge of a real theater director’s job.
For example, the big stage of the theater has been performing to full houses recently.
– At the moment, it’s a good feeling that people want to see our shows. But financially we are still fighting.
“In Stockholm they eat theatre directors for breakfast”
Sid’s work as a theater director also includes statements on the cultural crises of the folk home.
– It was confusing at first that when something happens in the cultural sector, the theater director is called, says Sid.
– There is always a crisis and there is always something to say. It’s good to have that said, he continues.
The last big debate started when the Swedish government changed last fall. Freedom of art was raised in Tikunnokka.
– There was a lot of talk about who gets to decide what is shown. There was a big discussion about the cultural canon. There was a lot of debate about this, and that debate is quite lively.
Sid still has a few years left to become a theater director. He is currently planning the program until 2026 and the aim is to build continuity for the theater after the crisis years.
– Stockholm is a barren place, they eat theater directors for breakfast there, I often joke.
Sid describes taking it one day at a time.
– I hope that I can continue in my profession, but not in the theater director’s chair.
*Watch the entire half past seven broadcast, with Maria Sid as a guest:*