"Solidariteten, det vackra i denna strid...". Spelet om Norbergsstrejken 1891-92 : En studie i arbetarkultur

Sammanfattning: This thesis is a monograph on The Play about the Norberg Strike 1891–92, a pioneering project and performance relating to working-class cultural expressions. The project was initiated in the summer of 1975, and the first successful performances were held in June and July 1977. The democracy of cultural life was very positively manifested in The Play and in Swedish media, it was described as the first working-class play. It served as a model for other similar productions, set in many places in Sweden. The investigation began with field studies, which facilitated the choice of a suitable theory. A starting-point was that a specific working-class culture exists, subordinated to the dominant middle class culture. Social class distinction is an underlying concept for hegemony, and also for the spanning theoretical framework used in my investigation. It comprises a public sphere theory, formulated by Oskar Negt and Alexander Kluge in their book Öffentlichkeit und Erfahrung (1972). Their concept counter-public sphere is applied to The Play.The main purpose was to describe the characteristic features of The Play, by delineating and analysing the production phase, particularly the aesthetically elaborated parts, i.e. the script production, the staging, the performance, and the reception, all consistent with the working-class culture and the local conditions in Norberg. A more subordinated purpose was to complete the common definition of the term working-class play.The Play about the Norberg Strike succeeded in putting the negative influences of the bourgeois public sphere aside, replacing it with positive categories. The work processes were of vital importance, as was the forming of new platforms and communication channels based on the local working-class experiences and lives. Consequently, The Play became a genuine expression and a solid breakthrough for working-class experiences.