Jävla karlar

About the Performance

At Christmas 1983, a two-story house in the woods outside Norrköping is shaken by a violent brawl and a secret falls out of a mother. A seven-year-old boy named Andrev learns that his father is not his father. The real one lives in a faraway land and has hair down to his shoulders. “Like an Indian,” says the mother, drawing on her elbow to help the boy understand. The boy roars because it’s the best thing he’s ever heard. He feels as if he is the boy in a book about a boy who learns that his father is the king of a magical land and that a spirit will come to take him there. But there are no spirits, just new dads who are not his.

Scalateatern and publisher Polaris proudly present Andrev Walden’s critically acclaimed and August Prize-winning debut novel “Jävla karlar” as theater. The wild and humorous account of growing up is performed as a monologue with Guldbagge-winning Shanti Roney in all roles. Eva Dahlman is the scriptwriter and director.

Don’t miss “Jävla karlar” when it comes to UKK’s main stage during the fall tour of Sweden!

Press Quotes

“Damn men show what a master Shanti Roney is”
“many liberated or affected laughs”
“highlights and insights”
“full-fledged stand-up comedy, unexpectedly good”
“Story and storyteller have become one”
“It’s very funny”
“the premiere audience won’t stop applauding”
– Dagens Nyheter

“Shanti Roney gives superb physical presence to the various characters”
“difficult to see anyone other than Roney in the role”
“burlesque joy of formulation”
“Eva Dahlman manages (…) to balance comedy and tragedy”
“we experience the boy’s gaze in a new way”
“art of performance”
– Svenska Dagbladet

“Strong.”
“very touching”
“Shanti Roney captures Jävla Karlar’s pain points on stage”
“Shanti Roney (…) skillfully captures the child in the center and everyone around him.”
“On stage, the skin is less thick and the wounds are open”
“comic scenes”
– Aftonbladet

“Shanti Roney shines”
“You can’t resist his charm. He has the audience in the palm of his hand”
“tribute to childhood”
– FOKUS

“Infectious lightness”
“Seductive”
“Many laughs” “Worth seeing” “A feat”
“Magnetic childhood story”
“Shanti Roney shines like a smaller galaxy”
– SVT Kulturnyheterna

“Nice”
“Elegantly cut out”
“nicely put together collage”
“Shanti Roney shines”
“Fan club chanted Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!”
“beautifully crafted novel”
“totally charmed by Shanti Roney’s performance”
– P1 Kultur

Participants and artistic team

On stage: Shanti Roney
Director and scriptwriter: Eva Dahlman
Writer: Andrev Walden
Set and costume designer: Magdalena Åberg
Mask designer: Sara Klänge
Lighting designer: Ellen Ruge
Assistant director and sufflorer: Git Brännström
Technical coordinator and lighting operator: P-J Jansson/Stizze Larsson
Sound engineer: Pelle Meyer
Co-producers: Jonas Axelsson for Bokförlaget Polaris and Tova and Conrad Nyqvist for Scala Produktion
Producer: Sara Huss Kleimar

Date and time: October 1, 2026, 19:00 – 21:15