Ola Salo developing the one-man show “It takes a fool to remain sane” with Edward af Sillén

The Swedish glam rock band The Ark caught the eyes of Europe in 2007, when they represented their country in Helsinki with the fun filled 60s themed rock number “The Worrying Kind”. Despite only come in at 18th place in the Eurovision grand final, the band, and especially its frontman Ola Salo, had a memorable stint in the contest. And now Ola has his eyes set on the theater stage in Göthenburg with a one man show based on The Ark’s hit songs.

The show has been given the title “It takes a fool to remain sane” in homage to one of the band’s songs. To direct the show, Ola has called in none other than writer-director (and Eurovision and Melfest funny man) Edward af Sillén. So people can expect the show to not only be musically diverse, but also funny as hell.

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När jag gjorde ”Hedwig” för två år sedan så hände det ofta att jag tänkte på scen: hm.. det här är verkligen en uttrycksform som jag trivs med. Ett mellanting mellan musikal och rockkonsert med sång och talad text varvat. Denna tanke ledde till en annan: varför gör jag inte det här som mig själv, med musik jag själv skrivit? Därför var det mycket passande när 2entertain strax därpå frågade om inte jag ville göra en show baserad på låtarna jag skrev under Ark-eran. Så nu har jag den stora glädjen att meddela att detta är precis vad jag kommer ägna våren åt. Från och med den 24 januari tar jag över Rondo i Göteborg och bjuder där in er till en maffig och magnifik show. Med regi av Edward af Sillén och ett manus skrivet av Henrik Schyffert (och mig), en fantastisk rock-sextett, dansare och all scenmagi som uppbådas kan ska vi skapa min ultimata rockshow. Ett glamrock-spektakel som i bild, text och ton berättar om och utvecklar de mest välkända låtarna jag skrivit. Om tiden då dessa låtar kom till, vad jag ville säga med dem och vad de betyder för mig idag. Så ryck åt dig en biljett när de släpps 8 oktober så hoppas jag får möta er alla på Rondo under vintern/våren för en helafton av extravagans, rockpoesi och extas! Take it to the stage!! #olasalo #ittakesafooltoremainsane #rondoliseberg #rockshow #theark #2entertain #livenation #showtic

A post shared by Ola Salo (@ola_salo) on Sep 28, 2018 at 12:41am PDT

But why a show based on “The Ark” songs? Speaking to Aftonbladet, Salo said:

“That was a suggestion that came from 2entertain, the production company behind the show. Those are my most famous songs and there is still a lot of interest surrounding them.”

“But I thought it was vital to seek permission with the band before I decided to do this, and they thought it was okay.”

Although “The Ark” split up in 2011, Ola has been quite busy. He’s been a judge on the Swedish version of “The Voice”, recorded three solo albums, played the lead role in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and written his own radio rock opera for Sveriges Radio. So it’s safe to say that he has not been sitting at home bored. But Ola’s twenty-year career with “The Ark” is near and dear to his heart, and that may be the main reason he is going through with “It takes a fool to remain sane”.

“It will be fun to base a show around the songs, because I really care about them. There’s a lot of stories surrounding each song. They’re about my life and my thoughts.”

“It takes a fool to remain sane” is set to premier in Göthenburg’s Rondo on January 24th next year, and the first batch of tickets has already gone on sale. And even though Ola’s former band mates of “The Ark” will not be joining him on stage, he will not fly solo all the time. “I have a six-man band with me, along with some dancers to help to create whatever will happen on stage”, Ola says. He promises a bulletproof show in January.