A family welcomes an underaged refugee. She has experienced war. Soon her presence reveals the flaws and dysfunctions within the family space.

Translated to English and French.

THE GIRL

This is not my story. I'm not even the narrator.

THE WOMAN

I was lacking something. No, wait. That's not it. I needed something. That's why I contacted the refugee reception center. I had read and seen and heard so many horrible stories. That's why I went to speak to them. I really want to do something, I said. What can I do?

THE MAN

All that talking of hers, hehe... All the time, constantly, as if silence is dangerous. I've told her. Breathe with your stomach.

THE GIRL

And I, I became a part of this story without wanting to.

THE WOMAN

At the center they asked me about my family. I told them I was married, but that I'd been home with my sons. And that they were a resul of a previous marriage. I told them that my husband earned enough for the both of us. I told them I love it. It's true. I like being a mother. It's meaningful. Even now, when they are getting older. It's so much more meaningful than a job would be.

THE MAN

She can't keep track of them. What she refers to when she mentions their education, is a mystery to me ...

Short laughter

In any case, she never corrects them, as far as I can tell. She lets them go on as they please.

THE YOUNGEST SON

He thinks he's our dad.

THE OLDEST SON

I can't stand him. I sleep elsewhere.

THE GIRL

That's all I am. A part of a story that belongs to somebody else.

A family of four escapes from war, imprisonment and insecurity. But the peacefulness that meets them in the new country is deafening in a completely different way.

For when everything is in order, and life is finally to be lived, a different kind of struggle starts. They must fight to settle and accept the memories of their homeland.

Premiering at the National Theater in Norway the 14th of March 2020. Cancelled due to the pandemic, and transformed into a audio drama in January 2021.

SHE

I don't understand this place.

It's too calm.

THE MAN

Isn't that nice?

SHE

Yes, but there is something lurking behind it.

And Alice, the girl our daughter is playing with -

THE MAN

They are just children.

SHE

You don't understand.

THE MAN

What don't I understand?

SHE

It's too quiet here.

I do not believe in this silence.

It's a camouflage.

A diversion.

And look, there's Alice!

Now they are running towards the forest again -

That's not how it should be.

THE MAN

You have to sit down for a moment.

Relax.

SHE

Yes.

Silence

And I should make some tea soon.

I'm going to start arranging the kitchen.

Maybe get some seeds.

Plant some herbs.

I will do that.

If only our daughter could stay inside -

I just cannot let her run outside like that.

From the beginning of the 19th century until well into the 20th century, tribes and indigenous peoples, including the Sami, got sent on tours in Europe and the United States. In traditional clothing, with the tipi and reindeer, they were exhibited in zoos for curious inquisitors. In Human Zoo, we follow a Sami family's journey from open plains to enclosed areas, which are getting increasingly narrower and narrowerr. The relationship between mother and father is bad. Grandma has started coughing a lot. The son is tormented by the spectators. And the daughter is asking the questions the parents have difficulty answering. The narrower the room outside, the clearer the conflicts between family members become.

The Sami National Theater Beaivvas is putting up Human Zoo in 2019, the premiere taking place at the National Theater in Oslo on the 4th of October.

Translated to Sami language.

THE ELDER WOMAN

These are new times.

New borders, other grazing land.

An era of curiosity.

THE BOY

Those were different times.

It wouldn’t have happened today.

THE GIRL

I still remember when he knocked on the door.

THE MAN

And what is it that he’s saying?

THE WOMAN

That people are curious.

They want to see how we are living up in the north.

THE MAN

We’re living like everybody else, surely.

THE WOMAN

But they want to have a look.

It’s not the first time.

He’s done it before.

THE MAN

We’re like everybody else, I’m sure.

Tell him to knock on another door.

Tell him to go away.

THE WOMAN

I said yes.

GIRL

Mum says it’s not right, reading about those conquerors.

They took stuff that weren’t theirs.

BOY

Did I ask for your opinion?

GIRL

Dad doesn’t do that.

Dad does the opposite.

Dad takes back what’s ours.

BOY

Go mind your own fucking business.

GIRL

Sighs

She’s not home yet.

Silence. The Boy gets up. Seemingly indifferent, he shrugs.

BOY

She’s working late, that’s all.

GIRL

Grandma asked for her

Short silence.

BOY

But grandma is always confused.

GIRL

But she’s off work since a while now.

BOY

So what?

Stop nagging me.

The Boy goes to the window, looks outside, seemingly at random. He looks at his watch.

BOY

She’s probably out shopping. A lot of people are at this time.

GIRL

But I saw two police officers outside the school.

BOY

So?

GIRL

They have been asking for her.

BOY

They just want to scare, that’s all.

The Boy goes over to the window once more, looks outside. Looks at his watch.

He looks at the Girl, before he finds his book, going through it hastily.

GIRL

And what if she –

BOY

Fuck, you’re always exaggerating –

GIRL

But they took the neighbor boy’s Mum even though she knew even less –

BOY

Shut up!

I’m reading.

Silence. The Boy goes through the book, before closing it violently. He walks over to the window, looks out. The Girl comes after. They look out together.

Long silence.

The Girl looks at the Boy.

GIRL

Whispers

What time is it?

BOY

Whispers as well

It’s getting a little late.

In order to ensure Norwegian sovereignty in the northernmost areas of the country, Norwegian authorities closed down rural schools and built new, larger boarding schools. Thus, at an early age Sami, Kven and Norwegian children were forced to move from their home to these schools, where they were forbidden to speak their native language. This play is based on testimonies from parents, children and teachers who were strongly affected by the Norwegian authorities' assimilation policy.

Reading at the Norwegian Drama Festival in June 2017. Reading in Konstanz, Germany in 2019. Premiere in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2020.

Translated to Swedish.

YOUNG BOY

At the front row, they put the Norwegian children, those of them with the nicest shirts and most clothes with them.

And then there are the Kven children, like our neighbors back home, eadni (*sami word for mum). They’re behind the Norwegians. And then, at the back, where I’m sitting, you find us. Us. The Fucking Laps.

That’s what he calls us, eadni.

When I can’t answer, when Biret besides me can’t answer.

His face gets all red and he screams it.

Fucking Laps, fucking Laps.

And eadni, at that point, I can’t help it, I have to laugh.

Finnmark (The northernmost county of Norway) 1944-1945. The Second World War is approaching its end. The Russians are on their way. Hitler orders the use of the Scorched Earth tactics in the North of Norway. Seven voices tell their stories from this period in time.

Premiered at the Norwegian Drama Festival in 2015.

YOUNG GIRL

Now the windows are crushed, and Mum pulls me back when I try to go into the apartment, no, no, Dad yells, get the girl away, and I make myself scarce, and I am a fly, flying away, but not entirely, and then, when they aren’t blocking the way, I fly in after them, and I see the broken glass on the floor, and the fallen bookshelves and the sofa cut in two, and the cloth coming out of it looks like moss. There is my teddy bear, there it’s lying, its body, I can’t see the head, and I fly away and I lose my wings and I fall, and I hit the floor and I smash my forehead in the soft plush. It’s sticking out, it’s sticking out of it, all that was inside is sticking out.