Scenrecension: the Beggars has uncannily high recognition value

Mia Törnqvist is a playwright with verklighetskontakt. I know of no other that would come up with the idea to write a play about beggars. But so is ”the Beggars” is not really about the beggar but about the current states of society. Pjästitelns beggar is symbolic enough outside of the scene. Nevertheless, they are present from the first reply to the last.

”I hit her.” The who says it is Marie, married to Mehmet, a kurd from Istanbul who works at the most Swedish of all, the public employment service. Yourself she is principal at a school where her brother-in-law Classe happen to be teachers. Classe is married to Johanna.

The one that gets beaten name is Maria and may one day Marie out of balance, not that Marie has reason to be angry but because she has a bad conscience. She gave 100 dollars and then 100 dollars. But Maria wanted 500 dollars, actually even more to his son's expensive surgery. Where starts and ends a conscience?

is hardly a realistic play, it is more like a laboratory. Much like when you need a catalyst to set in motion a process and learn something about the reality of the slightest atoms; in this case the moral of the atoms.

the Effect is reinforced by Lars Östberghs brightly-lit stage, where the colorless drapes allows the four main characters – five with the 6-year-old Alva – to quickly make the entrance and just as quickly disappear.

Ann-Sofie Fury, Andreas Kundler, Samuel Fröler, Eva Rexed and Tuva Huss in the ”Beggars” Photo: Sören Vilks

It makes the ”Beggars” to a rather abstract story.

strictly speaking, only a task. For Marie (Ann-Sofie Fury) it's all about stress and asthma-like feeling of inadequacy. For Johanna (Eva Rexed) applies instead to a certain childish that will come to pass when she and Alva gives dad's nice shoes to one that better need them. ”Rasisten” Classe (Andreas Kundler) get one of their many temper tantrums and takes to the bottle again. Mehmet (Samuel Fröler) finally, with the bloody irony, the closest to bored of this tiggarfrågan, he is from the Middle east.

Annika Hallin director wins to reinforce the comic, and easy mechanical in this puzzle, especially as both Rexed and Kundler may switch down to a slower tempo in a couple of monologues. Debattpjäsen released slowly in an apocalyptic change in the weather. There is a fire in the suburbs and along the route. People flee the flames. No danger, calms the Classe. The fire will not further than Liljeholmsbron. In the meantime, play Alva quietly in his sandhög and build castles in the air or possibly a better world.

Tuva Huss as a 6-year-old Alva in ”the Beggars” Photo: Sören Vilks

An evening with the eerily high recognition value.