thomas andersson i orange-brun rutig byxa och väst med småmönstrade gul skjorta. Mörkblå bakgrund i en vag solfjäder struktur.

WHEN OUR LORD MADE BYGDSILJUM and all the rest

Fiddler and storyteller Thomas Andersson with "When Our Lord made Bygdsiljum and all the rest". The story of how it all began and how it came to be as it was. The performance partly follows the course of events in the creation story but is set in our Västerbotten reality.

The performance is presented in the form of a folk story as it is usually told in our part of the world. In it, between stars, suns, moons, angels, devils, gods, people, plains and mountains - there is room for music. And, of course, it is partly written and performed in the vernacular.

- In my worldview, the world did not come into being as it is written in Genesis. But when our Sunday school teacher at Bygdsiljum told the creation story in her lively way, it was true. You could just see our Lord shaping mountains, fields and rivers with his mighty hand. He went forth like a giant earth-moving tractor. And it was not in the Middle East or anywhere else. It was at home. And it was the truth. I was 7 years old and my Sunday school teacher's name was Nancy Tjärnström," says Thomas Andersson.

Thomas says he eventually realized that the fields were created by human effort. And the fact that he now wants to tell this story as a full-grown man, he says, is due to a penchant for fantasy.

- I believe in evolution. However, I think the creation story is a beautiful, powerful and poetic story - as long as you can do what you want to believe in it. And thankfully, we have religious freedom in our country. So you can believe in evolution and be open to spirituality at the same time.

Thomas also sees that in the creation story, God probably gave man more responsibility than he deserves and can handle.

- According to the creation story, man is a design of our Lord, a kind of invention. But it was probably like putting the goat in charge of the garden that man was given the task of managing creation. Since we are now well on the way to exterminating all other creatures and destroying the whole planet, the question must be asked whether there was something wrong with the design? This question is also discussed in the performance," concludes Thomas.

Participants and production

Script & participation: Thomas Andersson
Director: Peter Engkvist
Set & Costume Design: Caroline Romare
Sound & stage technology: Arvid Staaf
Lighting: Cathrine Crépault Wibe
Sound recording: Jesper Johansson
Recorded musicians: Daniel Ek & Gunnar Lingegård
Carpenter: Jonas Åberg
DECORATOR: Catarina Berglind
Tailor: Helena Steisel
PHOTO CAPTION: Lisalove Bäckman
PRESS PHOTOS: Patrick Degerman
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Johanna Salander
CEO & PUBLISHER: Challa Gustavsson

Thanks to:
Greta Foundation.
Eva Cronsioe.
Alexander Radler von Weil.
Arne Andersson.

Special thanks for inspiration to: The podcast "Myths and Mysteries" with Erik Schyldt and Per Johansson.

Read the program leaflet!

Tour 2025

10/9 Timrå

17/9 Sävar

23/9 Hudiksvall

28/9 Nordanstig

3/10 Ljusdal

25/10 Lövånger

9/11 Tavelsjö

29/11 Åmsele

4/12 Umeå

The respective organizers sell the tickets on the tour.

Press quote

"Anyone who wants to enjoy Thomas Andersson has no reason to be dissatisfied with "When Our Lord made Bygdsiljum and all the rest". Here he is so much at home that I get the feeling that someone else must have done this story before. Has no one really thought to tell us that God's creation started with the Norrland coast?" - Lars Böhlin , Västerbottens Kuriren 3/10 2024

Playing in Skellefteå and on tour