A book that became a play that became a book

In the autumn of 2024, the theater performance Guh lejmeh sámieh/When We Were Sami, based on Mats Jonsson's graphic novel, premiered at Västerbottensteatern. During 2025, the performance was filmed and broadcast on Swedish television, and in May 2026, the play was released as a book in Ume Sami and Swedish.

In the discussion, we hear the author Mats Jonsson, Henrik Barruk (who translated into Ume Sami), dramaturg Tora von Platen, and actress Malin Vispe reflect on the new dimensions that Ume Sami has brought to the original work, as well as the challenges that arose in the effort to reshape the novel into a bilingual play.

Participants: Mats Jonsson, Henrik Barruk, Tora von Platen, and Malin Vispe

Organizer: Västerbottensteatern and Skellefteå City Library