A visit at Dramaten — and a ThankYou

Last night marked the final Arts and Tea gathering of the semester — a private tour of Dramaten, followed by dinner in brilliant company. It was exactly the atmosphere I dreamed of when I first imagined this circle: generous, intelligent, curious women in conversation with both each other and with the arts.

To be in your presence — to listen, to learn, and to share — is a gift I don’t take lightly.

For those of you who couldn’t be there, a few words about the place we visited: Dramaten, or Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, has stood on Nybroplan since 1908. The building itself, designed by Fredrik Lilljekvist, is a masterpiece of Art Nouveau architecture — gilded, grand, and still quietly radical in its devotion to artistic integrity. Since its founding in 1788 by King Gustav III, Dramaten has been Sweden’s national stage for spoken drama, nurturing generations of actors and directors, including legends like Ingmar Bergman and Greta Garbo.

To walk its marble halls, to peek behind its velvet curtains and gilded balconies, is to step into the ongoing story of Swedish theatre — and of the cultural values we continue to carry forward.

To all of you who read, follow, and support this newsletter — thank you. Whether you attend every Arts and Tea event or simply read along quietly from afar, your interest means more than you know. In a time when attention is scarce and often scattered, your presence here is a kind of trust. One I hold with deep gratitude.

We ended the night at one of my favorite restaurants — the very place where we had our wedding dinner, which says a lot about how much I love it. It was the perfect setting to carry the evening forward, to reflect together and share what stayed with us from the tour. Over food and wine, we spoke about what moved us, what puzzled us, and what made us laugh. It became a gentle, honest way to get to know each other — through the lens of art, but also through the small, personal responses it stirred in each of us.

What’s next?

This August we return with more guided tours, exhibitions, and plays — and most exciting of all: the first steps toward Arts and Tea Abroad.

A new chapter is brewing, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us. Looking forward to seeing you (in the flesh) once summer has passed.

Warmly, Julia Hichens