The Antonia Award is annually presented to performances that show artistic bravery and diversity in Finnish-Swedish theatre. This year, the award goes to Vi ska ju bara cykla förbi by Åbo Svenska Teater.
Vi ska ju bara cykla förbi is a performance about friendship, love and anguish. The play is based on Ellen Strömberg’s novel of the same name, which won the August Award for children’s and youth literature in 2022. Ida Kronholm directed the play, with Mathilda Kruse and Daniela Franzell on stage. The working group includes scenographer Jon Fredriksson, costume designers Ellinor Hellström and Camilla Reuter, make-up artist Sabina Segerström, light designer Antti Niitemaa, composer and sound designer Iida Aino Hägglund and choreographer Soledad Howe.
The jury motivates their choice is as follows: “The award goes to a story about the fragile yet vital friendship between teenage girls, and about the vulnerability and humour found in a teenager’s longing for life to begin. Having actors in their 30s and 40s play teenagers can go terribly wrong, but here Mathilda Kruse and Daniela Franzell manage to make the dialogue and interaction feel authentic, and director Ida Kronholm has struck exactly the right note for the play’s world.”
The other nominees were This is NOT Stalker by Sirius Teatern, Tre systrar by Teater Mars and Af Klint by Teater Viirus.
The 21st Antonia Award was presented during the festival’s Saturday club. The jury of 2026 consisted of theatre critics Tomas Jansson (chair), Vilhelmina Öhman, Lasse Garoff and Rakel Similä.