Carl Gottfried Seuerling (1727-1795) was a German born, Swedish stage actor and theater director. He was the director of the Seuerling theater Company in 1768-93 and as such the leader of one of only two professional Swedish language theater companies in Sweden of the era.

Life

Carl Seuerling was originally from the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and arrived to Sweden as the leader of a travelling theater company in 1760. He married the Swedish actress Margareta Seuerling (1747–1820) in 1768 and took over the theater company of her father, Peter Lindahl (1712–1792). The Seuerling travelling theater company performed all over Sweden and Finland, and was in many parts they visited the first theater performing. Historically, they have not been described as a theater company of great quality - they often experienced a shortage of staff, inexperienced actors and performed in conditions which did not give the chance of high quality scenery, the strong German accent of Carl Seuerling was caricatured, and anecdotes of failed performances circulated, particularly among the upper classes. However, these judgement are likely overreactions from an elite audience used to the theatres in the capital; in the provincial press, the company are often given positive reviews, and they were popular among the public in the towns and the countryside in which they toured, playing a pioneering role in Swedish theater history. Seuerling introduced the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

on the Swedish stage by staging the first performance of

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

at the Egges theater in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

5 August 1776, with himself and his wife in the main parts. In 1793 Carl Seuerling left his theater to Johan Peter Lewenhagen (1770-1832). However, after his death in 1795, his wife took over the company. Seuerling had seven children. He was the father of Carl Fredrik Seuerling (d. 1831), the actor Gustaf Wilhelm Seuerling, the school teacher Gottfrid Ferdinand Seuerling (1775-1826), the actress Carolina Seuerling (1769-1821), the musician Charlotta Seuerling and the governess Gustafva Margaretha Seuerling (1786-1863).

References

Other sources

* Schöldström, Birger (1889). Seuerling och hans "comædietroupp" : ett blad ur svenska landsortsteaterns historia. Stockholm. Libris 281714 {{DEFAULTSORT:Seuerling, Carl 1727 births 1795 deaths Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire Immigrants to Sweden Swedish theatre directors 18th-century Swedish male actors Age of Liberty people 18th century in Turku 18th-century German theatre managers