Carl Johan Karlson is a director and writer, born in the suburbs of Stockholm. He grew up with his mum and twin sister, and among his mother’s high-heeled shoes, he found a lifelong interest in theatre and make-believe. Carl Johan graduated in directing from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2013 and worked for a couple of years as a resident director at Riksteatern.

His work has varied from the great classics, such as Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, to modern comedies like Good People by Pulitzer Prize-winning David Lindsay-Abaire. His productions have, without exception, received excellent reviews.

Carl Johan has also directed several productions for younger audiences. He wrote and directed Vi som känner annorlunda, a play about gay history, for Det Norske Teatret. He has also directed opera: Massenet's Don Quijote at Folkoperan, and the Swedish premiere of the acclaimed Norwegian author Arne Lygre’s poetic play Mig nära. Carl Johan wants to widen his experience and is enthusiastically looking forward to directing for both film and TV.

Carl Johan’s recent projects include Älskad, Saknad at Uppsala Stadsteater and Arv (The Inheritance), which premiered at Dramaten.

Carl Johan is currently working on his first feature film, about the horrific sugar and dental experiments conducted on patients with intellectual disabilities at Vipeholm Hospital in Sweden during the 1940s.

Agent: Elin Sandström Lundh