Output details

Beyond Vice

‘Beyond Vice’, Uppsala stadsteater, Sweden is based on a performance-based research project led by Johansson and Gay Morris, University of Cape Town. The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Education supported this research (c.£15 000) followed by production sponsorship from The Swedish Arts Council of c.£ 28 000.

The performance-based research project explored the themes of male privilege, moral codes and gender abuse in 19th century Sweden and 21st century South Africa respectively. At these points in time South Africa and Sweden battled similar levels of poverty, epidemics (AIDS and syphilis respectively) driven by cognate social causes, and gender predicaments in terms of arranged marriages, domestic violence and prostitution. The underpinning research question concerned the comparability of gender problems between the countries given similar levels of poverty and cognate kinds of civil and epidemic predicaments. To test this we worked with one material (a 19th century Swedish debate and topical public opinion in South Africa) and applied it to one devising team in each country, one playwright from each country, apart from interdisciplinary participants in each country.

Johansson is led researcher/creative director and co-writer of the production. He also co-facilitated the devising group in collaboration with Clare Stopford. The outcomes of this research include a public performance and reflective writings (see portfolio).