Kompani Komedi

I am the director, founder and artistic director for Kompani Komedi. Kompani Komedi was founded in 1995. The goal from the start was to play, establish and popularize Commedia dell´Arte in Sweden and abroad. By understanding the roots and form of Commedia dell´Arte deeper, we also search into the roots of all western popular comedy. From 2012 Kompani Komedi has extended its goal to involve Vulgar Comedy as well.
Besides performances Kompani Komedi also gives workshops and seminars. Kompani Komedi bring international guest teachers to Sweden, arrange parties and ”open stages”, we tour Sweden and Europe.
Kompani Komedi base its style of Commedia dell’Arte as well as Vulgar Comedy on the early traditions, built heavily on acrobatics and music.

The history of Kompani Komedi started sometime around 1994 at the Theatrestudio, where I was teaching. The fall of 1994 I put up a Commedia dell´Arte show with a class. In the spring of 1995 the class asked me to direct two small shows. I did and the shows were played the summer that year. In the fall four of the (the now on) former students asked if we could keep up the work with Commedia dell´Arte. That was the fall that we started working together. In November the municipality of Vallentuna asked us to play two small shows.
That became the foundation of Kompani Komedi, who still is the only Commedia dell´Arte company in Sweden. Our first arrangement, that also became our kick-off, was an international workshop with the Italian Commedia dell´Arte company Teatro Immagine as early as the fall of 1995. That in its turn led us to a festival in Vicenza, Italy. The rest is history and the story is best told by our performances…
In Shows like:

• 1996 Oratio på Pottan (Oratio on the Chamber pot)
• 1997/98 AAARRGH!!! – Capitano Catastrofo Collossal
• 1998 Lezione dell’Arte
• 1999 Snow White for Suckers
• 2000 The Millennia project 

Or at least that is right up until 2012. In the beginning of the millennia Kompani Komedi went to sleep. But since 2012 it has come back to life through a European Polytheatre project.

Kompani Komedi is a fringe repertoire theatre with an international focus and a pedagogical activity, it specializes in Commedia dell´Arte and Vulgar Comedy, in an attempt to be “Sweden’s contribution to the international Commedia dell´Arte scene”.
The whole body of comedians in Kompani Komedi has got their education at the Theatrestudio in Stockholm, were they also first learned Commedia dell´Arte and physical theatre training. The organization of Kompani Komedi is built so that everyone who is working actively – anyone who is in a playing show or in the daily work – within Kompani Komedi also has the opportunity to become a member in the non-profit-association Kompani Komedi. To be able to be voted in to the board of Kompani Komedi it requires that one has been a member for at least one year.