The director Rickard Günther has passed away

Rickard Günther was a tone-setting director in Swedish theater for several decades. Not least at Teater Galeasen in Stockholm, where he made his directorial debut in the 1980s. The big breakthrough came in 1987 with "Sacrament", free from two texts by Lars Norén.

- He was only 65 years old. It was way too early. It is wrong against him as a person and wrong against Swedish theatre, which needs talented directors. He was among the absolute best, with integrity and great knowledge. It is a great loss for Swedish theatre, says the close friend and theater publisher Berit Gullberg Thörnqvist.

During his active years, Rickard Günther has directed several attention-grabbing productions.

Among them is "Baal" by Bertolt Brecht, which was played at Galeasen in 1986. And in 1997, Rickard Günther inaugurated the Dramatenscenen Elverket with his production of William S Burroughs' "The black rider".

The actor Ingela Olsson worked with Richard Günther at Galeasen in the 80s and 90s, and in 2015 played in his production of Sara Stridsberg's "The Art of Falling".

- He has had an enormous impact on Swedish theater life - and an absolutely decisive importance for my own acting, she says.

- It is still the case when I work that I always get to a point where I ask myself: What choice would Rickard have wanted to see here?

Ingela Olsson describes Richard Günther's first sets as groundbreaking. When he directed Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" ​​at the Stockholm City Theater in 1995, he stepped onto the larger theater stages - but without losing the core that Ingela Olsson describes as "raw and punk".

- He had an ability to find the beautiful in the ugly, with an absolute ear for authenticity, says Ingela Olsson.

In 2005, Rickard Günther was awarded Svenska Dagbladet's theater prize, the Thalia prize. He was then rewarded for his productions "Prinsessdramer" at Galeasen and "I am my own wife" at Stockholm City Theater.

- A few years ago, the theater school students were interviewed about which director had meant the most in Swedish theatre. And the answer was Suzanne Osten and Rickard Günther, says Berit Gullberg Thörnqvist.

Rickard Günther passed away Friday night after a short illness. He lived to be 65 years old.