# An archive of childhoods outside the norm: a perspective on Suzanne Osten’s theatre for young audiences

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Suzanne Osten's theatre for young audiences portrays unconventional childhoods and mental health issues.

## Contribution

The paper introduces Osten's theatre as an 'archive of feelings' for marginalized childhood experiences.

## Key findings

- Osten's plays address taboo topics like gendered mental health for young audiences.
- Her work contributes to public debates on children's culture and societal roles.
- The productions use unique dramaturgical strategies to engage young viewers.

## Abstract

This article discusses how childhood as well as gendered mental health issues are represented in Swedish director Suzanne Osten’s theatre for young audiences. The article illustrates examples from two of Osten’s theatre productions: The Girl, The Mother, and the Garbage (1998, for ages seven and up) and The Baa-Lambs Holiday (2014, for ages 15 and up). The article argues that Osten’s approach and dramaturgical strategies in her theatre productions are crucial for addressing topics many consider taboo for young audiences. Osten’s theatre performances can be regarded as a collective and ongoing contribution to public media debates surrounding children’s culture and the child’s place in society at large. It contends that her theatre for young audiences can be characterized as an “archive of feelings” of childhoods that are otherwise seldom highlighted in public.