A short presentation of the theatrical company from Österbybruk

(Österby Herrgårdsspel)

The main theme of our work is the history of iron - which has been an essential industry in the part of the country we represent. And this production and export of iron was for centuries an important part of Swedish history. In our plays we hope to give life to the people - young and old, men and women, rich and poor, owners and workers - who worked in the mines, the forges and the surrounding farms and forests.

The ensemble too consists of a mixture of people -from under eight to over eighty years of age. Our plays combine acting with music and dance. And there's also a mythological theme in our work.

Our current repertoire is written and directed by Katarina Ehnmark, in close collaboration with the ensemble.

The company started in 1980, and has so far made six plays. The actors are mostly amateurs but the productions are professional.

A few words about the background to the themes of our theatre:

Generation after generation lived with, and by, the iron manufactured in the ironworks of Uppland. And not only the man, but the whole family, young and old, directly or indirectly, took part in the production of iron. It was, for its time, a large scale production, in a well ordered community where everything was related to the production of iron.

This mode of production, the well organised iron works situated in the forests of Uppland, with water from streams and dams for power and charcoal produced in the surrounding woods, was fully established in the seventeenth century and lasted, in basically the same form, until the beginning of the twentieth century.

The smiths worked in shifts, with originally three hours (later it became six) for work and three hours for rest and food, day and night the whole week around, until Saturday when they were free until Sunday afternoon.

When the iron ore from the mine had been melted in the blast furnace, it was once again heated in the puddling furnace in the forge, and then skilfully transformed to iron bars under the tilt hammer. For a long time the production was powered by waterwheels, before the age of steam engines. This kind of iron was then exported abroad, mostly to England, and it constituted an important part of he Swedish economy. It can also be seen as a foundation and a production model for the modern Swedish steel-industry.