Theater Review: Swedish Playwright’s Comedy About Fear of Outsiders Resonates in Finland

A basement meeting in a Töölö housing cooperative descends into chaos in Lilla Teatern’s production of De Obehöriga. Residents have heard noises in the corridor and become convinced that someone other than a building resident is responsible. Their proposed solution is stark: install facial recognition at the door.

The play, written by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, focuses on the fears of affluent Stockholm residents. Lindqvist first premiered De Obehöriga at Stockholm City Theatre in 2019, targeting the intolerance that, the review says, lurks beneath Sweden’s polished surface.

In Lilla Teatern’s interpretation, the housing cooperative meeting takes on surreal proportions. The Finnish setting shifts the gathering to Töölö, while retaining the play’s focus on suspicion, exclusion and the impulse to protect a seemingly orderly community from outsiders.