A Girl, a Storm and a Mysterious Elephant – Skillinge Teater Presents a Spectacular Holographic 3D Theatre Experience

“The Girl and the Sea” – An Immersive Family Theatre Premiere in Skillinge, Sweden

June 23 – August 2, 2026

A young girl struggles alone through an approaching storm.

Two squirrels suddenly begin talking to her.

A giant shark, whose unbearable toothache throws the sea into turmoil, emerges from the waves.

And somewhere among the dunes of Sweden’s beautiful Österlen coast, a mysterious elephant watches over the sea.

This summer, Skillinge Teater presents “The Girl and the Sea”, an extraordinary family production that combines traditional theatre with holography, immersive 3D projection mapping, music and emotionally engaging storytelling.

From June 23 to August 2, the theatre is transformed into a magical world filled with talking squirrels, singing birds, a mysterious elephant and a gigantic shark whose painful toothache causes the sea itself to rage.

At the heart of the story is a young girl who feels lonely and abandoned. After an argument with her sister, she walks alone along the coast of Österlen as a storm approaches. While trying to rescue two small squirrels, she is suddenly drawn into a fantastic world where animals can speak, the sea has feelings, and a mysterious elephant named Eloffo possesses a voice powerful enough to calm even the wildest storms.

Almost a Musical – Original Songs Written for the Production

“The Girl and the Sea” is far more than a traditional theatre performance.

The production combines acting with specially composed music and original songs that carry the emotional core of the story.

Five new songs have been written specifically for the production, ranging from intimate moments of loneliness and friendship to powerful musical sequences where storms, oceans and magical creatures come alive. Several songs are performed live by the actors, giving the production the atmosphere of a modern family musical.

A New Form of Immersive Theatre

The production utilizes an innovative stage concept which, according to our research, has never before been presented in this particular form anywhere in the world.

A large-scale immersive projection environment surrounds the performer on three walls and across the entire floor, transforming the theatre into forests, stormy coastlines, oceans and fantastical worlds inhabited by magical creatures.

In addition, a holographic projection layer stretches across the stage. Characters and magical elements appear on an almost invisible projection screen, seemingly floating freely in space. Animals move between audience and stage, glide through the air and appear to step directly out of the story.

A specially developed stage system featuring a rotating platform and motorized treadmill allows the performer to appear as if she is travelling through vast landscapes, forests, storms and oceans. The audience experiences the illusion of a continuous journey through a living dream world – all live and without the need for VR headsets.

Starring Siri Bengtén

The lead role is performed by Swedish actress and stage artist Siri Bengtén, who combines acting, singing and storytelling into a powerful and emotionally engaging stage presence.

Through her performance, the fantastical world of The Girl and the Sea becomes a living experience for children and adults alike.

A Story About Loneliness, Courage and Belonging

Despite all its visual spectacle, The Girl and the Sea tells a deeply human story.

It is about children who feel lonely.

About fear, anger and the longing to be seen.

And about how help sometimes arrives from the most unexpected places.

Through humour, music, imagination and poetic imagery, the production creates a theatrical experience designed for both children and adults.

Recommended for children aged 5 and above and for the entire family.

Because sometimes all it takes is someone who stays by your side when the storm begins.

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The Girl and the Sea

June 23 – August 2, 2026

Skillinge Teater, Sweden

Immersive holographic family theatre featuring original music, live performance, 3D projection mapping and a living digital stage environment.

Press Contact

Skillinge Teater
Möllevångsgatan 9
276 60 Skillinge
Sweden

+46 761 640 864
info@skillingeteater.se

Contact:

Karin Johansson-Mex

SKILLINGE TEATER

Möllevångsgatan 9

27660 Skillinge

+46 761640864

info@skillingeteater.se

www.skillingeteater.se

karin@skillingeteater.se

Flickan & Havet Songs:

Små väsen gör sig redo

Ingen hemma

Stormen

Kramas är bra

Hajens värk

Jag är Eloffo

Aldrig riktigt ensam

Who Is Eloffo?

There are elephants you recognize from zoos.

There are elephants you recognize from circuses.

And then there is Eloffo.

An elephant who does not actually exist – and yet has been seen by millions of people around the world.

A few years ago, a holographic elephant at the famous Circus Roncalli attracted international attention. Where live animals once performed in the ring, audiences suddenly saw elephants, horses and fantastical creatures made entirely of light. Newspapers, television networks and social media channels across the globe reported on the phenomenon. The images went viral, reaching an audience of more than a billion views through news broadcasts, videos, articles and social media.

From that idea, Eloffo was later born.

A friendly digital elephant with a big heart and a story of his own to tell.

In The Girl and the Sea, Eloffo is much more than a technical projection. He is a friend, a guardian and a companion. When the storm arrives, when the sea feels too vast, or when someone feels alone, Eloffo is there.

Perhaps that is what makes him special.

He is not made of flesh and blood.

He is made of imagination.

And sometimes imagination is exactly what we need most.

We Create Wonders from the Heart

Behind the visual and technical production of The Girl and the Sea (Flickan & Havet) is digital artist, 3D animator and technical developer Birger Wunderlich.

Wunderlich is the founder, owner and CEO of the German company blueBOX GmbH and has also founded the Swedish company Arts and Innovations. For many years, he has worked on international projects in 3D animation, holography, film production, projection mapping and experience-based stage art – formerly with teams of up to 30 employees and productions involving more than 100 people.

For The Girl and the Sea, Birger Wunderlich created the holographic elephant Eloffo and large parts of the production’s visual world. The work began in the traditional way in Autodesk 3ds Max, where characters, environments, animations and visual effects were built from the ground up. Modern AI tools were then used as a complementary part of the workflow to accelerate production, develop ideas, create variations and make the creative process more efficient.

AI has therefore not replaced the creative work – quite the opposite. It acts as a tool that strengthens and accelerates the artistic process.

Birger Wunderlich has worked with 3D animation for more than 35 years and combines expertise across an unusually broad range of fields:

3D design, 3D construction, character animation, holography, projection mapping, compositing, 3D compositing, color grading, post-production, video editing, audio production, programming, IT infrastructure, network technology, electronics, mechatronics, server control and stage automation.

In addition to his creative background, he has studied biochemistry, medicine and computer science, which has contributed to his interdisciplinary view of technology and creativity.

For the production, a detailed 3D scan of the theatre was first created. Based on this, a complete digital simulation of the stage space was built, allowing projections, holographic effects, audience sightlines, stage movements and technical installations to be planned and tested virtually before the physical installation began.

The production combines traditional 3D graphics with modern AI-based tools. In addition to Autodesk 3ds Max, software such as Digital Fusion, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition was used. Tools such as ChatGPT, Nano Banana 2, Kling AI, Seedance and other specialized AI systems supported the production process.

The technical infrastructure behind the performance was also developed specifically for this project. Several Raspberry Pi systems control projections, media servers, networks, stepper motors and the motorized treadmill stage with its rotating platform. The software for controlling the media servers, stage automation and motion systems was developed especially for this production.

The original idea and texts for the performance come from Karin Johansson-Mex. The visual design, 3D content, animations, technical concept, programming, installation and practical realization were carried out by Birger Wunderlich. The musical adaptation is also based on Karin Johansson-Mex’s texts.

The result is a production that brings together classical storytelling with 3D animation, holography, projection mapping, stage automation and artificial intelligence – not for the sake of technology itself, but to create an emotional and memorable experience for children and families.

We Create Wonders from the Heart.

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Technical Implementation and Production Design

The Girl and the Sea combines classical theatre with modern media and stage technology in a fully immersive experience world.

The stage space consists of a semicircular projection system with three large projection surfaces and a separate floor projection. Through the centre of the room, a holographic projection surface is stretched, making it possible to show characters and objects that appear to float freely in space and interact directly with the performer.

A total of six high-performance projectors are used:

• 3 projectors for the semicircular wall projections
• 1 projector for the floor projection
• 2 projectors for the holographic projection surface

The result is an enveloping visual environment in which the audience feels as if they are standing inside the story.

The technical control of the production is handled by a total of 15 Raspberry Pi systems, specially configured for this production.

The systems are responsible for, among other things:

• media server control
• synchronization of all projections
• audio playback
• Dolby Surround sound system
• communication between all technical units
• synchronized English and German audio tracks via headphones
• stage automation
• monitoring of sensors on stage
• control of stepper motors
• control of the motorized treadmill
• control of the rotating stage platform

One special feature is the integrated multilingual system. Visitors can follow the performance in Swedish or choose synchronized English or German versions via headphones. All language versions are precisely synchronized with the performer and the projections.

A specially developed stage platform was built for the performer. It combines a motorized treadmill with a computer-controlled rotating platform. The movements are monitored by sensors and control systems that continuously synchronize the stage movements with the visual projections. This creates the illusion that the performer is travelling through vast landscapes, forests, beaches and fantasy worlds, even though she is physically located within a limited stage area.

Already during the planning phase, the entire theatre building was digitized through 3D scanning. Based on this model, a complete virtual simulation of the production was created, including projections, sightlines, stage movements and technical installations. This made it possible to test and optimize large parts of the performance before it was physically built on site.

The result is a unique combination of theatre, film, 3D animation, holography, projection mapping, stage automation and artificial intelligence – developed to create an extraordinary experience for children and families.