One evening in April, a man walks into a family-run restaurant on the south side of town. He is wearing an oilskin coat and a hunting cap. He sits in his corner, reading the newspaper and sipping amaro. Somehow, he has always been there. The TV switches on. The man walks over to the window, clasps his hands behind his back, and looks at something. Throughout the whole scene, a quiet, persistent question is whispered: who actually works here?

Performed by Alexander de Sousa and written by Jonathan Brott.

Alexander de Sousa (1997) is a Swedish actor educated at Malmö Theatre Academy from 2017 to 2020. Since 2024, he has been working at Dramaten, the national stage for theatre in Sweden and is currently playing in Rage by Milo Rau and Das Kapital by Örjan Andersson. He is also rehearsing Rathaus by Freja Hallberg at the independent and experimental stage Konträr, which premieres on 16 May in Stockholm and will later tour in Europe

Jonathan Brott (1996) is a Swedish author, poet and editor of the literary magazine L'Amour La Mort. 

DOLCE FAR NIENTE OR ITALY IS NOT A PLACE  is part of IMAGE/IMITARE, a group exhibition with contemporary artists and souvenirs that imitate and reinterpret the authentic kitsch of Italian cuisine and culture. The exhibition also features objects from Peppino Sperandio, the founder of the pizza salad and the restaurateur who introduced Italian cuisine to Stockholm in the 1960s.

Curated by Otto Ruin, art critic and researcher at Stockholm University.