Vivica Aina Fanny Bandler (5 February 1917 – 30 July 2004) was a Finnish

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

. She bought a theatre (''Lilla Teatern'') in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 1955 and is credited for popularizing

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

Finnish theatre. She was also theatre director in Oslo (1967-69) and at the

Stockholm City Theatre Stockholm City Theatre () is a live performance theatre located in Stockholm, Sweden. The theatre is situated near the Sergel fountain and the Stockholm City roundabout. Location It is located in one of Stockholm's most popular public buildi ...

(1969-1979).

Early life and education

Vivica von Frenckell was born in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki () is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipality, with million in the capital region and ...

, in 1917. She was the daughter of

Mayor

Erik von Frenckell Erik von Frenckell (18 November 1887 – 13 September 1977) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish nobleman, member of the Parliament of Finland, member of the International Olympic Committee and a vice president of the International Football Associat ...

and theatre historian Ester-Margaret Lindberg. She studied

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

, graduating in 1943. She then maintained her family home, Saari Manor, a historic home located in

Tammela, Finland Tammela is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality has a population of () and it covers an area of of which is inland water (). The population density is (). The first mention of a village name ...

. She served in the

Lotta Svärd Lotta Svärd () was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. Duri ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and married

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

Kurt Bandler in 1943; they divorced in 1963. In 1946, she began a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

love affair with the Finnish-Swedish writer

Tove Jansson Tove Marika Jansson (; 9 August 1914 – 27 June 2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Helsinki, Stockholm, ...

, which is documented by a series of letters they exchanged in subsequent years. Jansson incorporated the pair of them into her

Moomin The Moomins (, ) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, picture books, and a comic strip by the Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Finnish publisher Schildts. They are a ...

series as Thingumy and Bob (, named for Tove and Vivica respectively). Bandler eventually decided to stay with her husband, but the two women maintained a lifelong friendship. Bandler adapted two of Jansson's Moomin stories for theatre. In cooperation with her husband, she translated the first three Moomin books into German.

Theatre work

After the war she started working in an

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

in Tammela. She studied, in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the 1930s, under a French movie director. Upon her return to Helsinki she sought to become a film director, but because of her gender, the opportunity was lacking. She went on to get her degree in agriculture, instead. In 1939, she founded Helsinki's first Swedish student theatre, Studentteatern. Bandler also served as director of the theatre. When visiting film directors came to film in Finland she often served as translator, such as

Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder (; 21 July 1885 – 24 May 1948) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter and actor who worked principally in France, but also in the US, Britain and Germany. He was a director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 193 ...

. In 1962, she was awarded the

Pro Finlandia Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African reti ...

medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland. She was also a Commander of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

Legacy

Film director Tuija-Maija Niskanen made the film ' based on Bandler's life.

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bandler, Vivica 1917 births 2004 deaths Artists from Helsinki People from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Swedish-speaking Finns Finnish people of German descent Finnish theatre directors Finnish women theatre directors LGBTQ theatre directors Finnish military personnel of World War II 20th-century Finnish LGBTQ people

Early life and education

Theatre work

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links