Strangely Familiar (2023)

On 15 December 2023 we premiered our newest performance for a large stage: Strangely Familiar, about societal codes, exclusion and identity. A physical mime performance appealing to a broad audience, for which we have found two remarkable Italian-French performers.

Jakop Ahlbom Company and Teatro Metastasio coproduce “Strangely Familiar” in the 2024-2025 season, a surreal performance about social pressure and self-worth.

The main character in “Strangely Familiar” is not seen by his colleagues. He escapes his difficult existence by drifting away to a dreamed world where everything he desires can exist. However, he is unable to make his dreams come true.

When a new employee arrives at the office, this man turns out to be his perfect lookalike. How is it that this double receives the recognition our hero has longed for? He is confronted with everything he is not, or dares not to be, or perhaps does not want to be. His dreams turn into nightmares, seemingly taking over reality. “Strangely Familiar” depicts the struggle our hero undergoes, and we, in a sense, enter his mind with all its consequences.

Strangely Familiar is partly inspired by the dystopian reality of the series ‘Severance,’ created by, among others, Ben Stiller, and the absurd films of Roy Andersson. Dostoevsky’s novella ‘The Double’ has also been a significant source of inspiration.