Moomsteatern is a professional inclusive theatre company in Malmö, Sweden. Actors with learning-disabilities are employed on a full-time basis, on stage most often integrated with non-disabled freelance actors. The sole aim of Moomsteatern is to produce performing arts of high artistic quality.

The theatre was established in 1987 and ever since the beginning the theatre had the expressed goal to work with artistic objectives, banning all therapeutic and social aims. This means that the focus group is always the audience, the story and the art. The theatre is a non-profit foundation, with 15 employees including artists, technical staff and administration. For each theatre production Moomsteatern collaborates with professional guest artists, musicians, directors, scenographers and costume designers. Moomsteatern does two or three theatre productions each year, and the target groups span from young children, to teenagers and adults. They reside at their own stage in Malmö and their main audience is in the South of Sweden (Skåne), but they also tour nationally and internationally.

Is Moomsteatern a day care facility?
No, Moomsteatern is a professional theatre.

Do the actors get a salary?
Everyone who is permanently employed at the theatre is paid in accordance to a collective agreement. This includes the actors in our permanent ensemble.

What disabilities do the actors have?
The actors in the permanent ensemble have different kinds of disabilities, for example Down syndrome, Aspergers syndrome, Noonans syndrome and ADHD. Not all of them have a stated diagnosis (and we believe that there is more important things to ponder about).

How do I get an employment at Moomsteatern?
Send your CV to us by email, tell us about yourself and what kind of job you are looking for. You will then be included in the selection the next time we look for a new employee. You will find our email and phone number under “Contact”.

Where do I buy tickets to your shows?
When we play in Malmö; at our ticket agent Kulturcentralen. You can reach them by phone at (0046) 040 – 10 30 20 or book at their homepage http://www.kulturcentralen.nu If available, you can buy tickets at the door.

Are there any dining posibilities?
During our evening and weekend performances we offer coffee and tea for sale. During the daytime, restaurant MAT is open and offers coffee, tea, soft drinks, cakes and food.

If I am delayed to a show, what do I do?
In order not to disturb the actors or the experience for the rest of the audience, it is important to arrive on time for the performance. Whether you can be admitted to enter late or not depends on the nature of the performance. Contact our ushers on site for information and assistance.

Why are you called Moomsteatern?
When the theatre started it was as a part of Malmö care activities “Malmö Omsorg”. The name is therefore an abbreviation of precisely Malmö Omsorg, and was at the start spelled with one O. When our first logotype was created an extra O was inserted, but the name is still pronounced with a short vowel, as if there were only one O.

Moomsteatern was founded in 1987 by Kjell Stjernholm in cooperation with Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan. The idea was to start a theatre group for people with learning disabilities, without any educational or therapeutic goals as the primary purpose. This was to be a theatre group with solely artistic goals, producing theatre for the audience and not for the participants.

In 1992 Moomsteatern became a day care centre in Malmö with a permanent full-time ensemble within the care system. At this time it was unusual for day care centres to work with theatre. 13 persons with learning-disabilities became full-time actors. However, they were still working under the same conditions as everyone else in the Swedish care system, with early retirement and an allowance of 26 SEK a day. A democratic organisation was built in which the actors were given the power to decide which projects to implement and the opportunity to choose a director if they so desired. Moomsteatern caught the attention of the newspapers, and after a couple of years the theatre was reviewed in the same way as the city´s established theatres.

In 2003 Moomsteatern staged “Speciells evangelium”, a musical where Jesus is reborn in modern times with Down syndrome. The performance was a huge success and had over 70 employees. There were 45 artists from 17 different nations on stage, and all of them had market-based salaries, except for the 13 actors with learning-disabilities that enabled the project. In a performance about equality.  Moomsteatern decided that this would not continue.

Here was the basis for new Moomsteatern. The actors with learning-disabilities who perform with full artistic quality should receive equal pay for equal work. Moomsteatern no longer contributes to the system of discrimination against people with disabilities. Five of the actors from the ensemble were selected and further educated at the Theatre Academy in Malmö. In 2005, they were hired according to the agreement of the Theatre Association, on the same terms as actors without disabilities. On stage they work integrated with experienced actors whiteout disabilities.

1998 Kvällsposten’s Thalia Award to director Kjell Stjernholm for Den lilla människan

2004 Academy of Skåne Diploma

2007 The Knowledge Award, from Swedish National Encyclopedia

2009 Actor Pierre Björkman receive the UPP award from the Swedish Down Society

2016 The Intra award, from The Swedish National Association for People with Intellectual Disability

2016 Malmö City Arts award

2019 Michael Nyqvist Foundation Award

2020 Ernst and Ella Skoog’s Scholarship