We are mammals

A “sort of” musical about what it means to be human in our time, based on music by Annika Norlin (Säkert!).

About being a little on the sidelines, a little off, a little out of whack. About uncharming everyday situations—like spaghetti under your socks and fish sticks in your lunchbox—and juggling everything that’s happening at once: toddlers and teenagers, a career, and the desire for a well-functioning adult life. About relationships that creak and falter. About being in the middle of life, between young and old, noticing how you’re aging while watching your parents grow old, get sick, and die.

About being a contrarian. About everything beneath the polished surface, about wanting to push the boundaries of our efficient, conformist society. About the raw and unpolished, and about the mystery of everyday life—spaces that suddenly open up, abysses that come into view. About being sensitive, alive, fragile, and afraid. About being human in our time.

Annika Norlin’s musical universe meets Ada Berger’s sharp analyses of contemporary society in this raw and unvarnished performance about what it means to be human in our time. We live in an era where the view of humanity is highly mechanistic. People are expected to be smooth, well-functioning, and useful—easy to understand and easy to fix if they break down. In this performance, we get to experience something beyond utility and function. Here, space is made for the complex, the mysterious, the incomprehensible, the unconscious, and the enigmatic—things we have pushed aside and driven away. Here, everything has a place—even the imperfect, the broken, the clipped, and the fragile.

We live in an age where the view of humanity is highly mechanistic. People are expected to be smooth, well-functioning, and useful—easy to understand and easy to fix if they break down. In this performance, we get to experience something beyond utility and function. Here, space is made for the complex, the mysterious, the incomprehensible, the unconscious, and the enigmatic—all the things we have pushed aside and driven away. Here, there is room for everything—even the imperfect, the broken, the crippled, and the fragile.

The collaboration between Ada and Annika, two contemporary writers, is a new and unique partnership that promises an exciting theatrical experience, as Ada Berger—with her sense of humor, exploration of existential questions, and sharp analysis of contemporary society—has taken on the task of writing a script based on Annika Norlin’s musical universe. Annika’s music and lyrics have never before been adapted for the stage, and in *Vi är Däggdjur*, the audience finally gets to experience her candid, comical, and revealing lyrics in a dramatic form.

For the performance, Annsofi Lundin, ANSO / *My Great Sorrow*, has created new arrangements and interpretations of Annika’s music, which are performed by the actors.

The production is directed by Johanna Salander, artistic director of Västerbottensteatern, who has previously directed *Stygn*, *Allt som är värt*, and *Handbok för husmödrar*.

The production is a co-production between Västerbottensteatern and Riksteatern.