#he cute...

Since I translated this article for tarjeimoeperu on IG, I thought I’d put it up on here as well:

Without a crew

Tarjei Sandvik Moe (20) has become weirder since “Skam”. Now he enters his darkest character yet.

“I didn’t reflect on it in the beginning, that this is the first time I play someone that’s lived in the real world. It feels remarkable to carry the words of someone who died in 2006.”

A crumpled script lies on the table in front of Tarjei Sandvik Moe, there are no others in the actor foyer in Oslo Nye theatre.

“This will probably be the darkest part I’ve played. It’s as tragic as it can be.”

School shooting

20 November 2006, Sebastian Bosse shot down several students and employees at his previous school in Emsdetten in Germany. Afterwards he took his own life. Everyone survived, apart from the eighteen year old who performed the attack.

The monologue ‘20 November’ is based on diary entries and information he left behind. The play has already been staged in Germany, Sweden and France. Here at home it’s being directed by Ilene Sørbø. Sebastian is being played by Tarjei.

“It was just luck that no one else died. He shot many and threw smoke bombs at people, and had planned to take his own life.”

“What happened to him?”

“He was bullied a lot, felt that the school didn’t fit him, and that the community didn’t let him be himself. Therefore he swore to take a personal revenge, which he tried to elevate to something greater by making it political, almost religious.”

It’s about what alienation can lead to. And the question is if we all carry a part of the responsibility when something like that happens, like Tarjei sees it.

“In practical terms it’s only the person performing such actions that is responsible. But at the same time he’s a product of the society he lives in. This person had the same needs as me. He wanted to be seen, but no one did. And then it all went wrong. I hope the play will remind people that young people are vulnerable to fall outside [of society]. There we can all be more vigilant.

Great start

The dream about what he wanted to be was there from the beginning. But was an acting career really a realistic future dream? At the beginning of grade 10, Tarjei Sandvik Moe made a deal with himself, ‘only if you get a paid actor job within two years is it meant that you’re to become an actor’. Completely unaware of what was to come. The sign he was waiting for came in the form of a call from the Skam creator Julie Andem and the offer of the part of Isak.

As we know, this TV series really took off, both in Norway and abroad, and became the take off of all time for Tarjei Sandvik Moe’s career. There were Gullruten awards, parts in musicals, films and tv series, and a contract with Oslo Nye that preliminary ends in 2021.

“It feels very long since Skam now. I have done so much afterwards. I thought TV was going to be my road to travel, but I’ve become more and more interested in theatre and storytelling. There are so many other expressions than the down-to-earth realism that I worked with in Skam. I like dance. And performing arts. I don’t want to go long periods without doing theatre. I have probably become a bit weirder,” he admits.

Close to the audience

Even though his CV grows, the same thing can’t be said about his self confidence.

“Before Skam I thought that I would easily become an incredibly good actor. I dared to be arrogant about it in front of my friends. But for every new project, the work gets harder and harder because I set higher and higher standards for myself. As an actor I will probably never stop being nervous or wonder whether I’m good enough.”

20 November will be performed at Teaterkjeller’n. There is only room for 72 audience members in the room. Tarjei will be alone on the stage for an hour. There is no one else to lean on, nothing to hide behind.

“I very much like to act close to the audience. We really get to utilize the theatre space. I can’t think of a more exciting project than 20 November. The character is so complex. The theme is challenging. It’s a really good feeling. I’d rather make true art that means something for a few people than some rubbish that’ll be viewed by millions,” says Tarjei Sandvik Moe.

“But,” he says as a reservation, “not everything I do ends up being good.”

Here you go anon 🥺