On the Halland coast stands the once‑grand and beautiful “Badhotell Klitterviken.” Well… it was grand when it was first built. Now, in the late 1920s, after years of declining guests, the hotel has certainly seen better days.

This is, however, a fact that the pompous owner Estrid (Helena Aspeflo) stubbornly refuses to acknowledge. In her world, Klitterviken still shines, and she does everything she can to keep the illusion alive. She constantly pushes her browbeaten husband Hubert (Håkan Klamas) to do whatever it takes to survive, and above all, to maintain the façade of an exclusive seaside hotel, even though the walls tell a very different story.

It is the era of prohibition and ration books, and a fair amount of German liquor is being smuggled across the Kattegat. Behind his wife’s back, Hubert has struck a deal with one of the west coast’s biggest smuggling kings, Konrad Stålberg (Daniel Träff), to earn some extra money. A large shipment of contraband spirits has been delivered to the hotel during the night and now needs to be moved along.

Everything would probably go smoothly, if it weren’t for the fact that Estrid has booked a wake at the hotel on the very same day, hosted by the wealthy widow Stråhle (Ewa Roos), whose late husband was chairman of Halland’s Temperance Board. The widow has also promised to donate a substantial sum to the hotel, provided the wake proceeds calmly and with dignity.

The owners’ daughter Alfrida (Jeanette Capocci) suddenly arrives as well. She normally lives in Gothenburg, but now she is on a very personal mission: to expose her lover, whom she suspects of being unfaithful. The fact that she has also recently lost her job and spent most of her parents’ money on jazz clubs and dance halls… well, those are details she has carefully avoided sharing with her mother and father.

Naturally, problems arise quickly. Pastor Livhed (Mikael Riesebeck), who is supposed to lead the memorial service, turns out to have narcolepsy and falls asleep constantly. The local postman Dag‑Otto Flink (Jojje Jönsson) shows up to “help,” but soon can’t remember whether he’s a postman, smuggler, waiter or priest. The talkative and unfiltered Rut (Annika Andersson) and her mumbling, stumbling, sea‑bathing‑eager husband Ragnar (Mikael Riesebeck) check into the hotel and are, of course, unwillingly dragged into the chaos.

With a crumbling seaside hotel full of smuggled liquor, a missing corpse, threatening temperance officers, far too many priests, and a coffin that never seems to contain what it’s supposed to, the circus soon becomes complete.

It all results in a hilariously dark, salt‑sprayed seaside farce where the coffin is far too crowded for comfort!

Meet the Vallarna ensemble on a major Sweden tour, featuring: Annika Andersson, Micke Riesebeck, Ewa Roos, Jojje Jönsson, Jeanette Capocci, Håkan Klamas, Daniel Träff and Helena Aspeflo.

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Language: Swedish
Duration: 2 h and 30 min, incl. 20 min intermission.
Seated audience.

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Craving for a lovely mingling before the show?

Before the event, The Wood Hotel by Elite serves drinks and light snacks in the South foyer.
Serving opens 45 minutes before the event starts.

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