– Unpredictable, but I like it

March 6, 2026

REVIEW: Minahil Wasif has a working week at Kloden Theater, and has seen and reviewed "When What I Really Want Is for You to Hold Me" by Katja Lindeberg.

Text: Minahil Wasif

Photo: Torstein-Uthaug

"When What I Really Want Is for You to Hold Me" is a humorous, chaotic and vulnerable performance about what it really means to be a man. We meet Joakim, Benjamin and Per Magnus, three completely normal, straight men in their 30s. Through the performance, they explore what it means to be a man today, and how "traditional gender roles" sometimes don't make sense. We also meet Katja, who sits in a control room next door. There she (and the audience) follows the men and talks to them through a screen.

When the show starts, everything is a bit strange and chaotic. When you watch the show, it feels a bit like watching a reality show. The three men are dressed as superheroes, and one of the superheroes carries around a large camera, filming what they do (the men don't wear superhero costumes throughout the show). What the men film through the camera, we see through a large screen on the stage, and eventually Katja appears on the screen. The stage actually looks like a very messy apartment, which fits the whole show. You can see that when these three men live together, things get messy and frivolous. I think the show is meant to be a bit strange and messy, at least at the beginning. Eventually you understand that this is how the show is supposed to be.

This show is also one of the most unpredictable things I've ever seen (which I like). The character interactions go from being silly and pointless, to vulnerable and honest. One moment the three superheroes are dressed up as chimpanzees, the next second Katja comes into the picture and gets the men to share their stories. You also notice with the mood that things go from being silly, to more serious. This makes the show more engaging because the audience never quite knows what's going to happen.

This was a very unique performance, combining men's emotions, humor and realism. The performance is realistic, and I think many (especially men) can relate to it because vulnerability has become something that men are not supposed to show. Now the man in a relationship is supposed to be the "dominant" one and hold his wife. But who is supposed to hold the man?

All in all, "When All I Really Want Is for You to Hold Me" is a very chaotic performance at the beginning, but I like it. Another thing that I also liked about the performance is that it lasted a bit long (it lasts 1 hour and 30 minutes). If the performance had been shorter, I don't think what the men and Katja wanted to achieve would have been there. The performance is suitable for those aged 16 and up. Boys and men may relate to the performance more than girls do. If you like performances that are both funny, chaotic and at the same time vulnerable, this is definitely a performance you should see.