Forbidden love, seething Arctic fishing, and healing hands.
Ingeborg Arvola’s captivating historical novel has struck a chord with a record-breaking number of readers.
With glowing reviews and over 60,000 copies sold, the book is finally coming to the stage!
The Story
The year is 1859. Brita Caisa is alone with two children. Determined to give them the safety and stability they deserve, she straps on her skis and sets off on a long journey from Finland to Norway — in search of a man with whom she can build a secure life. But on the way, the unthinkable happens.
Brita Caisa is a woman who dares to leave — and a woman who dares to defy the judgment of others.
“The Knife in the Fire” is a gripping story of hard work and love, deep bonds and free-spirited passion, the individual versus the powers that be.
Inspired by Arvola’s Own Ancestor
Brita Caisa Seipajærvi was Ingeborg Arvola’s great-great-great-grandmother.
Arvola writes with such intensity that you can almost smell the blood of the reindeer slaughter, taste the cloudberries, feel the sting of the snow and the glow of the fire.
She also brings the Kven and Sámi cultures to the forefront, offering a unique and vivid picture of a history that deserves a greater place in our collective memory.
A Powerful Stage Adaptation
As the story makes its way across the country with Riksteatret and Kvääniteatteri, it is under the direction of star director Cecilie Mosli (Grey’s Anatomy, Three Wishes for Cinderella, Snow Sister), who brings Arvola’s sweeping epic to life on stage.
The cast includes Lena Kristin Ellingsen, Ivar Beddari, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Arthur Hakalahti, Bernt Bjørn, and Pernille Sandøy.
Praise for the Novel
“Wonderful and grand.”
— VG ★★★★★★
“This kind of burning desire — and equally smoldering passion — I haven’t read in a Norwegian novel for a long time.”
— NRK
“A compelling and historically rich novel (…) Can be devoured in one eager gulp.”
— Dagbladet ★★★★★
“In general, Arvola writes really, really well. Insanely well, in fact. Like a dream you didn’t know you were carrying.”
— Berlingske ★★★★★
“With an almost invisible hand, Arvola weaves in details of time, place, and setting that make the reader noticeably wiser.”
— Aftenposten
“Love and sex of the forbidden kind, broken marriages, parents and children torn apart, finances crumbling, a local community buzzing with gossip […] but above all, it is the forbidden attraction and love between Brita Caisa and the married Askan Mikko that gives the story its spark.”
— Klassekampen
Performance Details
- Running time: 2 hours and 20 minutes (including intermission)
- World Premiere: Oslo, Nydalen – January 30, 2026
- Tour Premiere: Nordreisa – February 5, 2026
Production Team
- By: Ingeborg Arvola
- Adapted and Directed by: Cecilie Mosli
- Costume & Set Design: Milja Salovaara
- Lighting Design: Martin Myrvold
- Composer: Arve Henriksen
- Musical Director: Jane Kelly
- Dramaturg: Siri Løkholm Ramberg
- Producer: Silje Vigerust Vinjar
- Produced by: Riksteatret in collaboration with Kvääniteatteri