The "spex"

On May day there was a performance by a very unique group of actors called the Lundaspexarna, spex for short.  It translates to Lund Jokers, and that is exactly what they are.  The acting troupe was established in 1886 and they have been performing since.  There are approximately 100 students from Lund University involved, and they put on 2 musicals a year.  What is so unique about the musicals is the improv.  After a performer sings his song, and it is a he - they are all men - even the women parts are played by men - if the crowd really liked it, they clap till he sings again, but it's not the same words only the same melody.  If they liked that version they clap till he sings again, also different words.  The iterations are often politically or socially charged, and the crowd laughs hardily.  ESS had free tickest available and that sounded like the right price for me!  The name of the musical is Uarda.  It is loosely based on the Moses story.  It took place in a castle downtown that is now a university building.

The ticket said 4:00, so we got there at 4:03.  What the Swedish word before 4:00 said was probably, "Doors at" because we stood in line for the auditorium to open, and the play didn't start till after 4:30.  The halls had murals like this indicating a fun night at the theater.

Here's the main room

It was time for the show and we were ready!

Of course the whole thing was in Swedish, but we enjoyed it.  It was a lot of fun to clap until the performers performed again, and the way the other actors reacted to the clapping was quite good too.  One performance that was repeated was a bass singer.  By the 4th time he sang his voice was so low it was hard to imagine noise was coming out at all.  The last song in the show was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.  Of course the lyrics were adapted to fit the story, but the result of the song was extremely entertaining and it involved a comical "paper, rock, scissors" battle.  We sat next to the sound guy, and all involved came out for curtain call.

We will certainly attend the fall show!