In Swedish Asshole the cultural identity of Swedish speaking Finns as a liminal space rules; caught somewhere between east and west, the Finnish and the Swedish.
Swedish Asshole might bring the audience into a scream-cry-laugh situation. Provocative, unrestrained, and absurd, the creation works for its makers Johanna Karlberg, Antonia Atarah, and Alen Nsambu as a character, a mindset, and an artistic practice with the motto “art is easy, anything can be art”—vouching for artistic freedom. Three shapeshifting antagonists with both inferiority complexes and delusions of grandeur struggle their ways to win, be seen, and heard the most. A sweetly singing quartet’s heartbreaking harmonies rise up into the skies. Swedish Asshole reveals a delusion about immunity, whiteness, and the need of belonging. It is a landscape in which the cultural identity of Swedish speaking Finns as a liminal space rules; caught somewhere between east and west, the Finnish and the Swedish.
The performance is part of Moving in November 5.–15.11.2026. As part of the festival, Karlberg, Atarah, and Nsambu will take part in an open Soup Talks discussion on the 10th of November at noon in Caisa.
Please note: Blinking lights, nudity, bodily fluids, citrus fruit. Age recommendation +15 years
Directing, choreography, and performance: Antonia Atarah, Johanna Karlberg and Alen Nsambu
Sound design and music: Nicolas Leissi Rehn
Choir: Akademiska Sångföreningen
Light design: Kristian Palmu
Spatial design: Mikko Salminen
Costume design: Mirjam Yeboah
Dramaturgy: Even Minn
Production: Johanna Karlberg
Supported by: Kone Foundation, Arts Promotion Center Finland, Svenska Kulturfonden, Konstsamfundet
Residencies: Davvi – Senter for scenekunst, Hammerfest (Svenska Kulturfonden, Finsk-Norsk Kulturinstitutt), Kanuti Gildi SAAL, Tallinn (Suomen Kulttuurirahasto)
Visit with the support of Moving in November
Photo: Marthe Nyvoll
Visit in collaboration with: Caisa
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