4 playwrights, 4 directors, 4 world premieres at Viirus in November 2024

Write a play in a week. Rehearse it in a week. From reality to the stage within an unreasonable time frame. Embrace panic, uncertainty, and lack of control in all situations. Don’t think through decisions more than twice. Because the premiere is on Friday!

We give four playwrights a central question and send them each week to a randomly chosen bar in Helsinki with the task of creating material for a one-hour performance. They have seven days to deliver.

After a week, the director and the rest of the team take over the material and create spanking new performing art from it. It’s unbearably rushed – because the premiere is on Friday!

• 1.11 Vi är väl inga monster, mamma?
  (We’re not monsters are we, mum?)
  Text by: Kaisa Lundán. Directed by: Essi Rossi.
  On stage: Iida Kuningas, Maria Ahlroth, Oskar Pöysti, Jessica Raita.
  Guest artist: Sirkku Rosi (visual artist)
  Duration: around 50 min.

• 8.11 Öppningen – Insomnia i fyra lager sand
  (The Opening – Insomnia in four layers of sand)
  Text by: Malin Kivelä. Directed by: Rasmus Slätis.
  On stage: Iida Kuningas, Maria Ahlroth, Oskar Pöysti, Jessica Raita.
  Guest artist: Alen Nsambu (dancer)

• 15.11  Ilska är en gåva – Kom till Viirus 15.11!!!
  (Anger is a gift)
  Text by: Joakim Groth. Directed by: Ida Kronholm.
  On stage: Iida Kuningas, Maria Ahlroth, Oskar Pöysti, Jessica Raita.
  Guest artist: Martin Ormin (musician)

• 22.11 The Scent of Lars Andersson
  Text by: Otto Sandqvist. Directed by: Maarit Ruikka.
  On stage: Iida Kuningas, Maria Ahlroth, Oskar Pöysti, Jessica Raita.
  Guest artist: Ville Virtanen (actor)

The performance concept has arisen from a need to experiment with more mobile and quickly responsive theater processes. Usually, it takes about a year and a half from production decision to premiere in a theater, and the idea for the performance is often born long before that.

This makes theater not the most current art form, even though one might think that theater art is born and stimulated by impulses from the surrounding reality. At the same time, the long performance period and the significant financial investment that each theater production requires compromises artistic risk-taking and playfulness.

What can be done to solve this? Create frameworks for theater that strives for lightness, joy, speed, and a connection with the reality here and now.

We have no idea what we’re doing or what will come of it, and we couldn’t be more excited!

Playwrights Kaisa Lundán, Otto Sandqvist, Joakim Groth, Malin Kivelä
Directors Ida Kronholm, Maarit Ruikka, Rasmus Slätis, Essi Rossi
Assistant director Marja Vuori

On stage Maria Ahlroth, Iida Kuningas, Oskar Pöysti, Jessica Raita
Guest artists Sirkku Rosi, Alen Nsambu, Martin Ormin, Ville Virtanen

Set Designer Tinja Salmi
Sound Design Riku Vuorensola
Lighting Design Noora Pietilä
Costume Design Elina Riikonen

Artistic Producer Oskar Pöysti
Project Dramaturge Per Ehrström (Labbet)
Stage Manager Markus Schaffter

Producer Hanna Sundman

Tickets 25 / 17 €

In collaboration with Labbet r.f. and UNTO

Age limit 18 years