A Heart in the Present Day

Theatre at Sliteteatern

An eerie, breathtaking interrogation drama.

Lisa, approaching seventy, is accused of a serious crime. During the police interrogation, she begins to tell her story. Soon she is the one directing the conversation, and reality slowly begins to unravel.

Something happened there on the platform—but what?

Ann Petrén and Anna Wallander meet in an eerie, breathtaking interrogation drama with a feel for the sad comedy of everyday life. Piece by piece, the ominous puzzle of Lisa’s worldview takes shape. Is she a victim or a perpetrator? Or both?

A Heart in the Present Day is a play by John Ajvide Lindqvist, world-famous for his depictions that make fear creep under your skin. Here he works with director Anna Takanen, who previously directed Ajvide Lindqvist’s The Unauthorized at S:t Paulskyrkan in Stockholm in 2019—the play in which the character Lisa first appeared.

Together they now create a taut, unsettling drama about the consequences of loneliness and insecurity—and about the unwillingness to accept guilt.

“Anyone with a heart in the present day would do best to stay hidden and keep their mouth shut. That’s how things have become. In our beloved Sweden.”
—Lisa in A Heart in the Present Day

SVT Kulturnyheterna

“John Ajvide Lindqvist is masterful—he has created a character perfectly suited to saying something about Sweden today.”

Sveriges Radio

“Ann Petrén, perhaps Sweden’s most wonderful actor”

Svenska Dagbladet

“Terrifying, funny—and terrifyingly good”

Expressen

“Gets under your skin”

Dagens Nyheter

“With Petrén’s presence in the room, magic happens.”

Running time: 1 hr 10 min

Cast
Ann Petrén
Anna Wallander

Creative team
Written by: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Directed by: Anna Takanen
Set design and lighting: SUTODA/Tobias Hagström-Ståhl
Costume and makeup: Patricia Svajger
Music: Simon Steensland