DISSECTING A SNOW SHOWER

The Royal Court at Stockholm, 1631: the princess Kristina has been raised to hold power as regent but is expected to marry before she can ascend the throne. But Kristina does not want to marry and become a mother, she wants to become king. As a snowstorm rages outside, Kristina wields her learning and razor-sharp intellect in battle against the expectations placed on her and the norms of her society, to protect her secret forbidden love and to gain the freedom to become something other than woman in a world where ‘Nature destroys women. Women live like bats or owls, slaves, and have children like animals and die like worms.’ Inspired by the life of Queen Kristina of Sweden, Stridsberg’s ‘Girl King’ is a modern heroine struggling with the uneven distribution of power, in a highly poetic play that combines violent passions with moments of gentle respite.