Vivica Aina Fanny Bandler (5 February 1917 â€" 30 July 2004) was a
Finnish-Swedish theatre director and agronomist.[2] She founded a
theatre in Helsinki and is credited for popularizing avant-garde
Finnish theatre.[citation needed]Vivica von Frenckell was born in
Helsinki, Finland, in 1917. She was the daughter of Helsinki Mayor
Erik von Frenckell and theatre historian Ester-Margaret Lindberg.[3]
She studied agronomy, graduating in 1943. She then maintained her
family home, Saari Manor, a historic home located in Tammela,
Finland.[4] She served in the Lotta Svärd during World War II and
married Austrian Kurt Bandler in 1943; they divorced in 1963.[1]In
1946, she became involved in a love affair with the Finnish-Swedish
writer Tove Jansson, which is documented by a series of letters they
exchanged in subsequent years. Jansson incorporated the pair of them
into her Moomin series as Thingumy and Bob (Bob, whose original name
is Vifslan, being based on Vivica). Bandler eventually decided to stay
with her husband, but the two women maintained a lifelong friendship.
Bandler adapted two of Jansson's Moomin stories for theatre. In
cooperation with her husband, she translated the first three Moomin
books into German.[5]After the war she started working in an amateur
theatre in Tammela.[3] She studied, in Paris, France in the 1930s,
under a French movie director. Upon her return to Helsinki she sought
to become a film director, but because of her gender, the opportunity
was lacking. She went on to get her degree in agriculture, instead.[4]
Finnish-Swedish theatre director and agronomist.[2] She founded a
theatre in Helsinki and is credited for popularizing avant-garde
Finnish theatre.[citation needed]Vivica von Frenckell was born in
Helsinki, Finland, in 1917. She was the daughter of Helsinki Mayor
Erik von Frenckell and theatre historian Ester-Margaret Lindberg.[3]
She studied agronomy, graduating in 1943. She then maintained her
family home, Saari Manor, a historic home located in Tammela,
Finland.[4] She served in the Lotta Svärd during World War II and
married Austrian Kurt Bandler in 1943; they divorced in 1963.[1]In
1946, she became involved in a love affair with the Finnish-Swedish
writer Tove Jansson, which is documented by a series of letters they
exchanged in subsequent years. Jansson incorporated the pair of them
into her Moomin series as Thingumy and Bob (Bob, whose original name
is Vifslan, being based on Vivica). Bandler eventually decided to stay
with her husband, but the two women maintained a lifelong friendship.
Bandler adapted two of Jansson's Moomin stories for theatre. In
cooperation with her husband, she translated the first three Moomin
books into German.[5]After the war she started working in an amateur
theatre in Tammela.[3] She studied, in Paris, France in the 1930s,
under a French movie director. Upon her return to Helsinki she sought
to become a film director, but because of her gender, the opportunity
was lacking. She went on to get her degree in agriculture, instead.[4]
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