Mitt i Nacka 101123
By: MARTHA LEFVERT
Helen Sjöholm publishes a solo album – and evolves as an actress.
Her her first solo album in eight years is released, she plays in “Aniara” at Stockholm City Theater and has a major role in the film “Simon and the oaks.” 2010 has been a busy year for Helen Sjöholm.
It’s a cold autumn day. Helen Sjöholm rubs her hands to get warm and orders a warming soup at the Diesel Workshop cafe. It’s lunchtime, so she takes the opportunity to eat during the interview. After that she will go home to her 3 year old son Ruben. The afternoon she wants to spend with him at home in Sickla, at 6 o´clock PM she will be on the main stage at the Stockholm City Theater.
– I miss many night stays because I often have performances. But on the other hand, we have never busy mornings, and I have more time with my child during the day than most other parents have, she says and sits down in a quiet corner of the cafe.
At the City Theatre played Helen poetissan in “Aniara”, a dramatization of Harry Martinson’s poem suite on a spacecraft that loses its direction. It´s an unusual role for her. She is accustomed to the supporting lead role and to sing her characters. In “Aniara” she has a few solo numbers – but above all she is part of a collective actor. – It’s new to me and very exciting. And difficult
– I’m incredibly applicant as an actor because I don´t have much experience. The uncertainty gives me panic, but it also generates creativity. My dream is to continue to – to go into more depth with my characters than is possible in many musicals, says Helen Sjöholmg.
It is a dream she had already begun to realize. Last spring, she recorded “Simon and the Oaks”, after Marianne Fredriksson’s best-selling novel. She was called by a casting agent, samples were filming – and was cast as Simon’s mother. “A big challenge,” she says. She has certainly been involved in two films earlier, but then the music has been important. In “Simon and the oaks”, she has a pure speaking role.
– They thought that I was consistent with the role and of course I couldn´t say no, even though I had much to do. The recording lasted from February to June. The hard part was the three weeks we were in Germany. It was hard to be away from Ruben so long, “says Helen Sjöholm.
Film premiere in 2011 now seems distant. Instead, she welcomes the fact that her new CD “Euforia” has received good reviews. On her first solo album in eight years, she sings songs by American artist Billy Joel. He is a giant in the home country, but has never been well known in Sweden. Perhaps Helen Sjöholm ‘s nice, clear interpretations will change that.
– I have long been wanting to make my own CDs but haven´t found any material I have fallen for. So I listened to some songs that my husband David just put into his iPod. One of them was “She’s Always a Woman”. God, it was so good, I thought, and so I began to listen more to Billy Joel. He makes strong songs, which is ambiguous without being complicated, and I like that. His songs suit my vocal cords, she says emphatically.
CAREER WITH MANY PEAKS
Name: Helen Sjöholm
Age: 40 years
Lives: In House in Sickla with husband David and son Ruben
Current: With CD “Euforia” (Sonet / Universal). Participates in the film “Simon and the Oaks” (directed by Lisa Ohlin), premiering next year. Playing in “Aniara” at Stockholm City Theater.
Her career of choice: Kristina in Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus musical “Kristina från Duvemåla” from 1995 to 1999. Film debut in 1999 in Richard Hobert “Where the rainbow ends.” Got Golden Mask in 2002 starring in the Swedish version of the musical “Chess”. Played Gabriella in Kay Pollaks movie “So It Is In Heaven” (2004). Got the Golden mask in 2009 for starring in “My Fair Lady” directed by Tomas Alfredson. In September 2009 she performed concert version of “Kristina from Duvemala” at Carnegie Hall, and the spring of 2010 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Worth knowing: Helen Sjöholm was on the Swedish charts 278 weeks from 2004 to 2009 with “You are my man” with Benny Andersson’s Orchestra.