Vår teater

In the late 1920s and 1930s, librarian Elsa Olenius pioneered storytelling and simple theatre games and pantomime for children at the Stockholm City Library's Hornsgatan branch, an activity that grew in popularity as more and more children became interested.

[3] When his work there ended, Olenius took over the premises in 1942 and started a more developed children's theatre activity for interested children between seven and sixteen years old, with improvisation exercises to music, pantomime and other exercises.

[4][5] Gradually, real performances for audiences were created and eventually it was called Vår teater.

[7] By 2002, around 150,000 children had participated in Vår teater's activities,[8] including many well-known theatre and cultural figures including Marika Lagercrantz, Tomas Bolme, Cecilia Nilsson, Rebecka Liljeberg, Josephine Bornebusch, Anita Wall, and more.

[9][10][11][12][13][14] After Olenius' death in 1984, the Friends of Vår teater Society – the Elsa Olenius Society [sv] – was established in 1988[15] to provide advocacy management and financial assistance related to Vår teater, and also to award the Penguin Prize to a person or an organization that has in one way or another been responsible for extraordinary work in the field of children and youth culture.