Archive treasures: The original set design sketch for the “Comet in Moominland” play by Tove Jansson

The play Mumintrollet och kometen (Comet in Moominland) premiered at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki in December 1949 and was the first Moomin play ever performed.

Tove Jansson herself designed the Comet in Moominland set design and costumes in addition to the manuscript she had written. The play was based on the book that had been published a few years earlier, in 1946, Comet in Moominland. From our archives, we found the original set design sketch drawn by Tove Jansson. Have you seen it before?

How about these cute costume designs for the Muskrat and Moomintroll?

The play was directed by Tove’s friend and lover at the time, director and actor Vivica Bandler. The actors of the play were theatre school students and the youngest actors theatre had at that time. Read more about the first Moomin theatre play from our previous blog post:

https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/moomins-theatre-swedish-theatre-1949-mumintrollet-och-kometen/

 

Photos: Moomin Characters