Mark your calendars if you’re attending the Gothenburg Book Fair this week – To My Brother author E.L. Karhu is performing there!
Author E.L. Karhu – whose name you’ll recognize for her novel To My Brother – will be performing at the Gothenburg Book Fair, participating in panels and conversations with other authors and dramaturges from Thursday to Sunday. The schedule is as follows:
Thursday 12:30-13:20, panel Fearless and vulnerable: women’s perspective in playwriting (Dramascenen)
Should we need a specifically female perspective in dramaturgy? How can we move towards a more equal society? The discussion is initiated by prominent Estonian playwright Piret Jaaks, in conversation with playwrights from neighbouring countries. The panel is in English.
Fri 11-11:45 seminar Finnish feminisms and queer spaces (Room R22 + 23)
How do today’s dramaturgs reflect on and reshape the Finnish feminisms and the quuer perspective on stage? Guided by professor emerita and queer activist Tiina Rosenberg, this seminar invites to a conversation between four bold voices in the Finnish theatre scene: Leea Klemola, whose shameless characters defy norms; E.L. Karhu, who explores caring and alliance building; Saara Turunen, and Arni Rajamäki. A thought-provoking conversation about stage art, politics, and identity. The panel is in English.
Sat 10-11:30 Antigones arv | Antigone’s Inheritance (Room G4)
Staging of Athena Farrokhzad’s play Antigone’s Inheritance directed by Saga Gärde, followed by a conversation with other playwrights whose work has drawn from myths. E.L. Karhu contributes with her experience of writing a play about the myth of Medea. The event is in Swedish and English.
Sat 15:30-15.50 The Drama of Care (Dramascenen)
Playwrights Johanna Emanuelsson and E. L. Karhu discuss their new plays, A Swedish Crime (“Ett svenskt brott”) and Marian Blessing escapes from a facility (“Marian Blessing karkaa laitoksesta”) in which they explore the shortcomings of care and how this crisis has influenced their most recent work. Moderated by Kristina Hagström-Ståhl. The discussion is in English.
Sun 11:00-11:20 True Crime on Stage (Dramascenen)
How does the true crime genre work on the stage? Can stories of real-life violence and crime be transformed into meaningful theatre, and what are the risks of sensationalism or exploitation? A discussion with two playwrights exploring this territory: Kristian Hallberg and E. L. Karhu. Karhu’s play, Marian Blessing flyr från en anstalt, is based on a true story of a vengeful and violent elderly woman. What can be found in the darkness of these stories, and what does it reveal about our society? The playwrights share their strategies and ethical considerations in conversation with Kristina Hagström-Ståhl. The event is in English.
E.L. Karhu debuted as novelist with To My Brother. The book follows a greedy, lonely girl who watches her beautiful, popular brother atop the sensual bodies of his girlfriend candidates. If someone were to look at the girl, they might see a loser who binges on sweets, devours soap operas, and trails her brother like a shadow. Her intense narration forces one to stare, to look more closely. Is this only strange, or is there, actually, something that you can relate to? To My Brother is filled with dark humour, the oddities of an out-grown sibling relationship, of many-facets lust, and social and sexual hierarchies. It is striking, deep, entertaining, funny, and tragic at the same time, and it certainly is a novel unlike anything else you have read.
Don’t miss out on these events!