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Master Olof (Swedish: Mäster Olof) is a historical drama in five acts by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. The story is about the reformer Olaus Petri's struggle against the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. First written in 1872, Strindberg rewrote it many times in both prose and verse.

Ludvig Josephson (the new artistic director of Stockholm's New Theatre) agreed to stage Master Olof, eventually opting for the prose version—the five-hour-long première opened on 30 December 1881 under the direction of August Lindberg to favourable reviews. This production represented Strindberg's breakthrough in the theatre.

References

1. Meyer (1985, 89, 95). Lane gives the length of the production as six hours. The name of the theatre in Swedish is Nya Teatern. Two theatres in Stockholm have used this name (one is now known as the Swedish Theatre while the other, Mindre teatern, was demolished in 1908). August Lindberg took over from Edvard Stjernström, who founded the one now known as the Swedish Theatre; see Lane (1998, 1040) and Meyer (1985, 89).
2. Lane (1998, 1040).

Sources

• Lane, Harry. 1998. "Strindberg, August." In The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Ed. Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 1040-1041. ISBN 0-521-43437-8.
• Meyer, Michael. 1985. Strindberg: A Biography. Oxford Lives ser. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. ISBN 0-19-281995-X.

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