PRESS
Press Release – 26 November 2025
An Other Nobel Prize Dinner at KONTRÄR
On 10 December, as the Swedish cultural elite gathers for the iconic Nobel Prize Dinner, “An Other Nobel Prize Dinner” at the Konträr Theatre in Stockholm dares to turn the tables. On 10 December, as the Swedish cultural elite gathers for the iconic Nobel Prize Dinner, “An Other Nobel Prize Dinner” at the Konträr Theatre in Stockholm dares to turn the tables.
The evening gives the stage to the women whose testimonies exposed the abuse and rape scandal surrounding the Swedish Academy, statements that led to the suspension of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018.
Created by Milo Rau, Servane Dècle, Anna Kölén and Jamie Man, the work is developed exclusively for Konträr at the invitation of Artistic Director Freja Hallberg and presented as part of RESISTANCE NOW! by the Vienna Festival.
Echoing the ceremonial framework of the Nobel tradition — speeches, a formal dinner, music — the work transforms these elements into a staged performance. Through diary entries, essays and memoirs read aloud publicly for the first time, a hidden narrative emerges about Sweden’s cultural establishment: a landscape marked by power, desire, silence, and the women who resisted that silence.
The music for the evening is composed and performed by Jamie Man, one of the most influential female composers of her generation.
A real dinner. A performance. One unified work.
The evening consists of:
• A six-course dinner served throughout the performance
• A staged work unfolding through readings, music, ritual and composition
• Two ways of attending:
Dinner tickets
Guests sit at the long table and are served all six courses as part of the performance.
Gallery tickets
Guests observe the dinner and performance from the surrounding gallery.
Both groups encounter the same work — only the vantage point differs.
Context: The Arnault Case
Jean-Claude Arnault, married to a long-standing member of the Swedish Academy, was convicted of two counts of rape in 2018. The revelations triggered a profound crisis within the Academy, led to the resignation of six members, and resulted in the suspension of the Nobel Prize in Literature – the first time in decades that the prize was withheld.
Press Contacts
KONTRÄR
Moa Alsén – Executive Producer
moa@kontrar.se | +46 760 48 67 54
Wiener Festwochen
Judith Staudinger
j.staudinger@festwochen.at | +43 664 22 589 38
About KONTRÄR
Konträr is Sweden’s first theatre without ticket sales, sustained entirely through a subscription model with members across twelve countries. The model ensures full accessibility for audiences and complete artistic autonomy for creators.
In 2025, Konträr presents more than 30 productions and over 120 performance nights.