The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, European Review, 9 (3), pp 319-337 2001, © 2001 Cambridge University Press. Johansson wrote the abstract, introduction and was equal co-author of this article. The article investigates contemporary experimental theatre in Sweden. It sums up and probes the implications of Sju tre (1999), the most controversial theatre production in Sweden in modern times. Lars Nor'n, the playwright and director, staged a dialogue involving three real convicts, of whom two were outspoken Nazis. The article explores the uncertain boundaries between aesthetic, ethical, and political issues with ramifications regarding the wider public opinion in Sweden, on racism and crime. It is methodologically motivated by reception research, performativity and idealogical discourse. By virtue of its performative impact, the theatrical event proved to be directly linked with critical questions of democracy, although conceivably at the expense of the artistic integrity of the director and the theatre as creator of public opinion. The article points to a paradox of democracy whereby hate speech is at once allowed and unjustified in the theatre as national arena. The actors are described and analysed as parasites in a societal body, that in Sju tre, becomes politically epitomised. Johansson presented the research at a conference in Mainz, Germany and a further publication in Nordic Theatre Studies. RAE_import_type : Journal article RAE_uoa_type : LICA