Veterans

They are among us, but few have heard their stories. In the Veterans, we meet the Swedish soldiers who have served in the war in Afghanistan.

It’s about being able to trust each other, about stepping up and working hard. It’s about the desire to make a difference and about moments you never forget. But also about what we are prepared to do to be part of the group, and how we must live with our decisions – as well as handling the great challenge afterwards – becoming a “civilian” among others.

In the play Veterans, the audience shares a room with some of the over 50,000 Swedish men and women who have served in war zones abroad. With dry humor and honesty, we in the audience are drawn into their attempt to remember what happened and understand their experiences. What begins in a close community soon develops into a struggle where the stories and memories diverge, a struggle where everyone tries to understand what they got into, what happened, and who they have become.

The actors in the work give voice to the real soldiers, whom Andreas Norman has met over a long period and talked to before writing the play. Andreas Norman is the poet who became a security expert at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then a novelist. With Veterans, he makes his debut as a playwright.

The director is Martin Rosengardten, who also directs The Child of the Future for Riksteatern 2025. Recently, he was involved with the successful musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at Malmö Opera and the play The Shoplifter at Young Stage East. On stage, we see the actors Jimmy Endeley, Joakim Gräns Bouya, Martin Nick Alexanderson, and Pierina Rizzo.