Star director Yael Ronen takes a critical look at contemporary Sweden

In a world of fake headlines, AI manipulation and political campaign promises, Fake explores a society in which truth has become secondary.

Acclaimed and politically engaged director Yael Ronen turns her attention to contemporary Sweden, working together with the ensemble. The play is being created during rehearsals through a devised theatre process.

“We have a title. We have a subject. We have an ensemble. We have a group of creative people from different parts of the world who have come together at Dramaten in Stockholm to explore Fake with one of Europe’s most exciting directors. And the only thing we can be absolutely certain of is that whatever we imagine Fake will be about, it will turn out to be about something else,” says Lindy Larsson, who has worked with Yael Ronen on numerous productions.

Director Yael Ronen was born in Jerusalem, is based in Germany, and has worked at theatres including the Maxim Gorki Theater and Schaubühne Berlin. She often ventures straight into the heart of global conflicts, and whether addressing the Balkan Wars or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she transforms trauma into biting, liberating comedy. She has been described as “the theatre world’s most humorous therapist”.

Her breakthrough came in 2010 with Third Generation, in which she brought German, Israeli and Palestinian actors together on stage. She also created a musical about #MeToo, Slippery Slope – Almost a Musical, which premiered at the Maxim Gorki Theater in 2021. Her production Roma Armee was presented at Dramaten as part of the Bergman Festival in 2018.

Written and directed by: Yael Ronen. Cast: Mustafa Al-Mashhadani, Björn Elgerd, Electra Hallman, Bianca Kronlöf, Lindy Larsson and Ia Langhammer.