Södermanlands Nyheter 2023-03-06
By: CATARINA NITZ
When the iconic film Änglagård (House of Angels) becomes a musical this fall, Helen Sjöholm will play the role of Rut – perhaps the worst grumpy aunt in Swedish film history. But before it’s time to start rehearsing, Helen Sjöholm does a live gig in Strängnäs. We have had a chat with the popular star.
Tuesday, March 28, the singer and actor Helen Sjöholm will come to Thomas Arena for a concert. The tickets sold out in no time.
– What fun, I’m really looking forward to it, Helen Sjöholm says when we speak on the phone.
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In 2020, Helen Sjöholm released the album En ny tid (A New Time) with specially written and handpicked material. During the tour that followed the album release, she got to know the pianist Rickard Nilsson.
– We felt that we could do something in two, so we met and sort of just tested. It felt great and we have done a bunch of gigs in the autumn with material that represents and covers my entire career.
In addition, there will be a small mini-tour this spring.
– It has been great fun. I land back a bit in how it started. For me it was usually with a pianist.
Scaling down and working with just one voice and one instrument has meant that Helen Sjöholm has had to approach certain songs in her repertoire in a different way.
– So what do you do with these big pompous songs? What are they about? It feels nice and there will be an interaction that will be very intimate.
The audience can expect to hear hymns, songs from Kristina from Duvemåla, songs she has sung with Benny Andersson Band and when she participated in the TV4 program Så mycket bättre (So much better).
Helen Sjöholm will even sing a song written about her own grandmother.
Helen Sjöholm’s grandmother lived her whole life in the village of Näsåker in Ångermanland, and it´s from her grandmother’s life in the village that Helen Sjöholm draws inspiration for her portrayal of Rut in the upcoming musical House of Angels, which premieres on September 10 at the Oscar Theater in Stockholm.
– I got the urge because I enjoy doing rehearsal work around something new so much. Although this is an old story and many hold it in their heart, the music is new and the script is also new.
The music is written by Fredrik Kempe and the screenplay is by Edward af Sillén together with Daniel Réhn. Edward af Sillén will also direct.
The angry and bitter character Rut is as far from cozy aunt as you can get. Helen Sjöholm has great respect for Viveka Seldahl’s (1944-2001) role interpretation in the first two House of Angels movies.
– Not least in that iconic scene where she scolds the new gang there in the village. Both her acting but also what it represented – the fear of the new and the abhorrence of that which threatens everything that is familiar. But in Rut there is so much more.
– Why she is the way she is is because she has been so cruelly let down. It’s interesting to work on and dig into. What happens to a person who carries a secret and has been betrayed? That is what Rut is about.
Are there any good songs in the musical?
– Yes it is! There is a lot of good music that Fredrik Kempe has written. It probably won’t be an anthem for me, it will be a bit more swinging, I think. It will definitely be a great experience to see and hear this.
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