Emil Gittansson Jensen: We must keep in touch

One of Sweden’s most unique performing artists is coming to the Palladium in Malmö. On 22 November 2026, Emil Gittansson Jensen will be performing his show *We Must Keep in Touch – on friendship, life and everything in between*. Through music, poetry and personal stories, the audience is treated to an evening that will both make them laugh and give them food for thought.

Auditorium: 17.40 | On stage: 18.00

Concert duration: 2 hours + interval 

The bars in the Marble Foyer and the Gold Foyer are open from 5.00 pm

The award-winning artist and poet is back with a new show and a tour of Sweden.

With his unique blend of music and speech, humour and seriousness, the personal and the global, Emil instils courage and strength in the world around him. 

“The performance revolves around the theme of friendship as a phenomenon. This much-underestimated relationship, which is essential to our survival as human beings and the foundation of all solidarity,” he says of the theme.

By playing with concepts using an old overhead projector, through spellbinding music and rousing speeches, and not least through his deeply personal stories, Emil leaves no one unmoved.

The common thread of friendship encompasses everything from a look back at history to a glimpse into the future, but it is also about loneliness and the extreme individualism of our times.  

“Recently, I’ve lost my best friend, who took his own life, and both my parents, who had become my closest friends over the years. This has made me think about what a true friend is. How to stay in touch – regardless of whether someone is alive or not! Why does friendship have such a low status, both in art and in society? And why are all the quotes about friendship so sappy?”

Over the years, Emil has emerged as one of our most unique and beloved stage personalities, with his distinctive banter that can segue into songs, spoken word, short talks and stand-up comedy. Or ‘liggnertragik’, as he himself calls it.

In *‘We Must Stay in Touch’*, he is now exploring the possibilities of the performing arts even further, with the help of director Siri Bengtén.At the heart of the show lies Emil’s repertoire of songs, and he is, of course, accompanied by a ‘Friendship Band’ – featuring Anna Dager on cello, Hanna Ekström on violin and Staffan Findin on trombone.  

“I’ve noticed that several of my earlier songs revolve, like planets, around this very theme, and these, together with the newly written ones here, now form a whole new solar system. Just as you yourself change through different encounters. The more I think about it, the more I realise that songs are like imaginary friends.”  

Emil Jensen – now also known as Gittansson, in honour of his mother – has released eight acclaimed albums and several books, and is a regular contributor to Sveriges Radio as a columnist on ‘Godmorgon världen’ and ‘Tankar för dagen’, and has been a much-lauded guest on the ‘Vinterprat’ and ‘Sommarprat’ programmes on several occasions.  

He has been awarded the Nils Ferlin Prize for his poetry, the Evert Taube Prize for his songwriting, the Karl Gerhard Prize for his shows, and has been nominated for the Martin Luther King Prize for civil courage. He was also recently awarded the ABF Culture Prize, with a citation that in many ways highlights Emil’s artistry.  

From the Explanatory Memorandum:

“Through his unique combination of music, poetry, storytelling and social commitment, he creates art that both moves and transforms. With equal parts playfulness and seriousness, he reminds us of the importance of solidarity in an age often characterised by individualism and fierce divisions. Emil has a special ability to make the invisible visible – to highlight the small moments, the forgotten perspectives and the voices that otherwise risk going unheard.”