Kathrine Nedrejord is a Sámi-Norwegian author and playwright based in France. With several novels and children’s books to her name, she has also been the resident playwright at the National Theatre in Oslo and the Norwegian Centre for New Playwriting. Several of her books have been adapted for the stage. Nedrejord’s works explore themes of alienation and systemic abuse, often drawing from her Sámi heritage. Her last novel, ”The Sami Problem” is a huge literary success and has been recently awarded the Brage Prize for Literature 2024.
“Almost Human” tells the story of a refugee girl being welcomed into an upper-middle-class family. As soon as she enters the home, it becomes clear that the family members need her just as much as she needs them. Inspired by Nedrejord’s grandmother’s experiences as a young Sámi refugee in Stockholm after the World War II, “Almost Human” is a play about trying to be good person and the complex burden of gratitude.
The play “Almost Human” explores, with striking lucidity and fragility, human identity within a society dominated by control, alienation, and the constant need for adaptation. Situated at the intersection of psychological realism and intimate dystopia, the text constructs a universe in which human relationships are fragile, and individuals are engaged in a continuous struggle to preserve their individuality within a context that gradually reduces them to social functions, reflexes, and mechanisms of survival. The author investigates the ways in which fear, social pressure, and latent violence alter the structure of interpersonal relationships.
The text questions the very definition of what it means to be human: what is it that makes us “almost human”, and where does the loss of empathy, memory, and responsibility toward others begin? From this perspective, the play functions as a reflection on contemporary European reality, yet without resorting to a militant discourse. In “Almost Human”, violence is not explosive or overt; instead, it subtly infiltrates language, silence, the characters’ inability to recognize one another, and, above all, the relentless search for empathy.
Translated by: Ovio Olaru
Cast: Mariana Mihu Plier, Mihai Coman, Veronica Arizancu, Iustinian Turcu, Ștefan Tunsoiu
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