Like black ink tattooed into the Norwegian folk soul

What is it really like to live in Norway these days? Does it feel like a warm and good hug? Where has the Norwegian folk soul gone? FUCK IT – a sick Norwegian performance asks important and critical questions about Norway and its politics.

On the pilot scene at Kloden The theatre has the performance FUCK IT – a sickly Norwegian performance , the premiere was held in the fall of 2024. The scenography is simple with three large waffle hearts scattered on the stage, which reflects the main theme of the performance, because what is more Norwegian than waffles? The performance is about exactly this; what is typically Norwegian. On stage are Gro Harlem Brundtland (Mine Nilay Yalcin), folk dancer Jon (Jon Bugge Mariussen) and the slightly tired and somewhat hungover punk Lisa (Lisa Birkenes Thun). Gro has sent the other two on a journey so that punk Lisa can find herself again, because that's what Norwegian politicians do, they go to the mountains.

The two then travel through Norwegian nature at its best: spruce forests, windmills, Kvikklunsj, water, sausage in a thermos and oil platforms, but the identity crisis hits hard when they realize how little Norwegian Norway really is. How much of nature, which is such a big part of the Norwegian identity, has been destroyed, even by what we call the green shift. That we care about sustainability and animal welfare, but only until they destroy our expensive boats. That our values have shrunk and what makes us so Norwegian is disappearing. 

The performance addresses many important themes, but puts an extra spotlight on the climate crisis and sustainable development and what Norway is doing about it all. “The green shift has become so gray,” says Lisa as they look out over the wind farms in the otherwise idyllic mountain world they are hiking in. 

There are few props, and thus sound and light form a large part of the storytelling. For example, the elements are used to show that the characters are in an idyllic forest with the help of green lights and sound effects such as birds chirping and the light flashing red when shots are fired. This is in contrast to some monologue scenes, which are often completely without music and sound effects, where only Thun's voice finds space.

The 'mountain world' in which they so beautifully wander is nothing more than light and sound effects. There is no video in the background, painted tapestries or changing scenography. It is just Jon, Mine and Lisa, and the three waffle hearts placed as islands or upright as statues on the stage. These are spruced up with spray paint so that they have the texture of the waffle hearts that we know so well. Considering that different colors have been used in this process, it becomes a nice representation of the mix between both the “rural” and the urban city life that Norway embraces.  

– How do you really think the fish are doing out here?

Norway is a rich country, both in terms of money and nature, it has been that way for a very long time anyway. But on the one hand we continue to drill for oil, which destroys nature, wildlife and increases CO2 emissions. And on the other hand we set up wind farms to reduce precisely this, but these also clip the wings of birds and disturb the reindeer. Where have the Norwegian values gone? According to Lisa, they are placed in oil platforms such as Frigg, Tor, Hugin, Munin, Fenris and Draugen. Like black ink tattooed into the Norwegian folk soul, we drill for oil in the name of our old gods. We cling to the Norwegian, because what are we without it?

While Lisa and Jon wander around the mountains, Gro becomes a kind of narrator and good fairy who contributes with good humor, waffles and volunteer work. During the performance, she appears and asks someone from the audience to bake and distribute waffles to the rest of us in the hall. This provides a fun break in the performance and makes room for precisely what is so Norwegian; volunteer work. While they do this, she talks about herself and what she has achieved as a politician. For example, she discusses the concept of sustainability and how important this is for the world and the future. 

Folk dance to harmonica and techno

Folk dance is also something that many people associate with 'typically Norwegian' and is an element that is used in the performance. It is usually Jon who is in charge of this part of the piece, but both Lisa and Gro are sometimes involved. It is danced to both mouth harp and techno and is a combination that I never thought I would see, but which works surprisingly well. In the sequences where Jon and Lisa dance separately, the different expressions, folk dance and the more uncompromising style of Lisa, become a strong distinction between the two, and again a representation of the rural and the urban.

The performance has several fictional layers. One of them consists of scenes where folk dancer Jon and punk Lisa walk among the windmills and swim with the fish, while another fictional layer consists of monologue scenes with Thun. Both Mariussen and Thun, or Jon and Lisa, use their own names in the performance, unlike Mine Nilay Yalcin. Thun also alternates between two different versions of herself. In the monologues, she tells what appear to be real stories from her own life. This creates a special and personal atmosphere in the theater hall and contrasts with the rest of the performance in a very well-executed way. Thun has a radiance on stage that is noticeable all the way to the back row. It is easy to see that she is having fun, which is contagious to the audience and creates energy in the performance. All three performers have good contact with us in the hall and with each other, which makes it even more interesting to watch. 

The staff of Oddvar Brå

The actors talk a lot about topics that are relevant to most of Norway's population, but also go down to the individual level. Because when even Norway is in an identity crisis, one can assume that the same applies to the population. Throughout the performance, it is almost as if Lisa becomes more and more 'typically Norwegian' and not the drunken, babbling punk who gets irritated by everything and everyone like she was at the beginning. She eventually ends up in a national costume like the icing on the cake of a Norwegian crown. But she realizes that this is not her and that is perhaps why she says towards the end that this is for you “who instead of feeling like Oddvar Brå, feel like the staff that breaks, time and time again.” 

Comic scenes and laughter are distributed throughout the performance with many references to the Norwegian news scene, but behind all the humor screams and roars the seriousness that Norway, the world and the Norwegian idyll are in at the moment. I am not old enough to remember the spirit of volunteerism or Gro, but I am well acquainted with politicians who dare not do anything while they watch the world burn. Would we have felt so bad about contributing a little? The performance is a sharp and important criticism of Norwegian politics and Norwegian politicians.  

FUCK IT – a sick Norwegian performance brings out the big differences in the Norwegian idyll, what is typically Norwegian, and what it is really like to live here. One of the many strengths of this performance is that it opens up for reflections even after the performance is over. In a Norway that does not dare to stand up for those who need it, it is important to have people shouting “IT DOESN'T WORK” just like FUCK IT does.