Pia Forsgren, Theatre manager and Artistic director

Pia Forsgren
Theatre manager and Artistic director

Pia Forsgren studied direction for the stage at the Dramatic Institute in Stockholm, where she directed the critically acclaimed production of Hanjo, a modern Noh play by Japanese author and poet Yukio Mishima. Her breakthrough came in 1988 with The Four Little Girls by artist Pablo Picasso.

The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm invited Pia Forsgren in 1985 to develop her talent for modern poetic drama. There she directed performances such as Hiroshima mon Amour by French writer and film director Marguerite Duras and Rappaccini’s Daughter by writer and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz. Together with Katarina Frostenson – member of the Swedish Academy and one of Sweden’s foremost poets – she introduced a new Swedish poetic language for the stage with plays such as Nilen (The Nile), Traum (Dream) and Sal P (Ward P).

In the late 90’s Forsgren was asked to create and develop an experimental, cosmopolitan, cutting edge stage for Performance Art at The Jewish Theatre based in Stockholm. As theatre manager, director and artistic director there for more than fifteen years, Pia Forsgren has directed several pioneering cross-border performances, including Crystal Road by Katarina Frostenson, Spoonface Steinberg by playwright Lee Hall, and the opera Shadowtime by poet Charles Bernstein and composer Brian Ferneyhough. Pia Forsgren has collaborated with such renowned artists as Swedish director and playwright Lars Norén (Still Waters) and Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin of the Batsheva Dance Company developing FURO, a danceinstallation featuring Japanese video artist Tabaimo and her piece Japanese Bathhouse.

Some of Forsgren’s recent productions include the political seminar project MD and the celebrated performance of The Dogs of Prague by Marguerite Duras, conductor Daniel Barenboim’s concert with The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the video exhibit Small Songs by artist and photographer Lee Yanor. In collaboration with author and curator Aris Fioretos and gewerk design from Berlin, Forsgren staged the exhibition Flight and Metamorphosis. Nelly Sachs, writer, Berlin/Stockholm.

Significant for Pia Forsgren’s body of work is the merging of different art forms, technology and architecture, and her ability to develop fresh new physical/technical potential for future stage performances. Her interest in contemporary cultural expressions, as well as her strong inclination for experimentation and exploration of the theatrical space, has been manifested in several highly acclaimed productions

Photo Mats Bäcker