Distance

A summer resort on the coast, two couples on vacation together. Familiar terrain for Norén, one might think. The mood is friendly, although a little bit tense. The marriage of Kristoffer and Hanna seems to be in a crisis. Hanna constantly has to listen to how she has gotten fat, that she packed to many clothes, as usual – and all this in front of the friends. But Tomas and Eva Lena are no poster couple for marital harmony, either. Tomas and Kristoffer work together for the Stockholm police, they have known each other since their days as soldiers, on tour of duty in Bosnia. They both brought their service weapons along for the vacation – you never know what might happen to you, in these days.

Distance intentionally leaves the audience in the dark about what drives and connects the characters. There are no confessions, no soul-seeking, no revealing confrontations. But bizarre contradictions frequently cross through Norén's dialogues, brief moments of naked violence flare up in the play, like over-exposures which hint at the ugly reality behind the facade of niceties.