The Poet of Finland
– Surely people can’t be allowed to do whatever they want just because of their intelligence?
– I think they can.
Love for a celebrated poet turns a young journalist’s life upside down. One evening on her way home, Tuula-Liina encounters Pentti Saarikoski (1937-1983), a renowned artist who is also in desperate need of a bath. THE POET OF FINLAND is a performance about passionate love and the marriage of Pentti Saarikoski and Tuula-Liina Varis (born 1942).
Aina Bergroth’s new play is a painfully funny and shocking journey back in time to the turn of the 1960s and 1970s in Finland. The play, which focuses on the dynamics of a romantic relationship, draws on contemporary descriptions and is loosely based on Tuula-Liina Varis’s novel Kilpikonna ja olkimarsalkka (1994).
The surrealistic performance deconstructs the myth of artistic brilliance while depicting Tuula-Liina’s journey to the beginning of her writing career and freedom.
Ryhmäteatteri’s new art director, Riikka Oksanen, directs the spring premiere. Oksanen and Bergroth previously collaborated on KOM Theatre’s critically acclaimed and popular production Lou Salomé (2021).
The cast includes Minna Suuronen, Santtu Karvonen, Robin Svartström, Markku Haussila, and Johanna Isokoski.
The performance language is finnish. The play is subtitled in English and Finnish every Wednesday and Friday.
performances 7.2.–25.4. recommended age limit 15. Duration 2 h 30 min. includes flashing lights and theatrical smoke.
The Poet of Finland is subtitled in English and plain language Finnish on Wednesdays and Fridays.
You can follow the subtitles with an application on your smartphone.
Standard ticket 46e
Pensioner 38e
Youth under 25, students, unemployed, military or civil service personnel 24e
Group ticket, min. 20 people 36e
Student group ticket 17e (teacher accompanying the group free of charge, only available from Ryhmäteatteri’s own ticket office)
Theater professional ticket 17e (membership of a professional association must be proven, only available from Ryhmäteatteri’s own ticket office)
Playwright Aina Bergroth
Director Riikka Oksanen
Cast Minna Suuronen, Santtu Karvonen, Robin Svartström, Markku Haussila, Johanna Isokoski
Set design Janne Vasama
Costume design Tiina Kaukanen
Lighting and video design Ville Mäkelä
Sound design Jussi Kärkkäinen
Makeup design Pia Malmberg
Choreography Markku Haussila
Production manager and prop manager Tiiu Poikonen