{"id":984,"date":"2018-10-15T21:05:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T21:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/?p=984"},"modified":"2022-02-06T20:50:27","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T20:50:27","slug":"contemporary-finnish-theatre-disruption-and-expanding-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/18\/contemporary-finnish-theatre-disruption-and-expanding-fields\/","title":{"rendered":"Contemporary Finnish Theatre: Disruption and Expanding Fields"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hanna Helavuori<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Anthropocene has\nbeen defined as the present geological epoch, in which the earth\u2019s ecosystems\nand biodiversity are being slowly disrupted by human intervention. Climate\nchange and other environmental crises affect the area of our thinking,\nobservation, knowledge and subjectivity. What is the role and potential of the\nwriting and making performances in the era of the eco-crisis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Finnish\nperforming artists feel like they’re living in a reality (the world, or its\nprevailing social or economic systems) where purchasing power is the yardstick\nfor citizenship, and where consumerism has usurped the role of religion. At the\nsame time, the Earth has exceeded its carrying capacity and teeters on the\nbrink of ecological and social disaster. An ever-increasing proportion of the\nexcluded precariat is ever easier swept along by populism, racism and\nxenophobia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through their art,\nFinnish theatre artists present alternative views on what kind of world we’d\nall like to live in. They present works critical of the idea of continual\ngrowth, new models of action, and methods of working, all of which are marked\nwith an awareness of what it means to live in a world of scant resources,\ndwindling energy and decreasing material possessions. This is what is happening\noutside the traditional institutionalized (city) theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making theatre and\nbeing an artist are being reconceptionalized. This discussion is strongly\nlinked with the idea of artivism, which many artists consider a new genre of\nsocially critical art. At the same time, we’re considering the balance between\nart, activism and politics. New interdisciplinary approaches to performance\nshare characteristics from activism, installations, interventions, communal art\nand performance.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one thing these\nfree companies and collectives have in common is their hybridity, whether in\nthe sense of borderline, third space, transitional space or liminality. Current\nresearch into migrant groups talks about diaspora identity; people migrating\nfrom one country to another shape and reshape their identity as necessary. In\nthe framework of art, diaspora identity might mean focusing the gaze outside\nthe national boundaries: what could be \u201canother\u201d way of being Finnish, seeing\nthe Other or defining one\u00b4s sexuality or sexual identity. This kind of diaspora\nidentity, which is reflected in the work of the expanding group of freelance\nperforming arts professionals in Finland and in their hybrid culture,\nemphasizes the fact that identities are not consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These hybrid\noperators create free zones for thought and action. The new type of theatre\ncollectives are democratic, with the aim of facilitating open dialogue and\nparticipatory decision-making. They stand opposed to the logic of productivity.\nIt is impossible to carry through long-term processes within the confines of\nrepertory theatre, as they simply do not have the time and financial resources\nfor it. Many groups and productions organize their work around working groups.\nWhether based on the text, the space, the concept or a working group, the main\npoint is for the groups to be able to choose their working methods freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posthuman Perspectives, Compassion<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The contemporary\ntheatre performances reflect upon the question of the \u201cposthuman\u201d condition and\nscrutinize what human beings are in relation to other living creatures.\nPosthuman drama and theatre represent a new kind of sensitivity and strategy to\nrespond to the ethical and political challenge that we encounter in the middle\nof the eco-catastrophe, climate change and the mass extinction of the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Car Park<\/em>, a participatory performance by Other Spaces where the audience is turned into cars. Photo: Paula Tella<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Director and\ndramaturge Tuija Kokkonen, the current professor of artistic research at the\nTheatre Academy of the University of Arts, Helsinki, is one of the early\npioneers of ecological theatre and posthumanist thinking in the field of\nperforming arts. She has investigated our relationship to the non-human through\na performance event. Her doctoral artistic research project (entitled \u201cThe Potential\nNature of Performance: The Relationship to the Non-Human in the Performance\nEvent from the Perspective of Duration and Potentiality\u201d) articulated her\nconcerns. Her work has been influential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ecological concerns\ncan be seen in the performances of a collective called Other Spaces (the\nconvenor of which is Esa Kirkkopelto). The performances take the form of\ncollective physical exercises, in which the audience is invited to take part.\nIn Great Barrier Reef<\/em>, adult and\nchild participants of all ages come together to form a living and constantly\nchanging human coral reef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Legend of the Tiny Bone<\/em>, 2016 version by the group Third Space.
Photo: Robert Seger<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Third Space is a\nmulti-arts group with the emphasis on dialogue and cooperation between art and\nscience. Their artistic research processes are long, including several phases\nwhich are communicated to the audience. The\nLegend of the Tiny Bone<\/em> examines the history of humanity as a species, the\nvalue of human life and the relationship between human and non-human entities.\nIts starting point is a tiny spinal bone which, according to Jewish and Arabic\nmyths, contains the coded riddle of the human self. We have the possibility to\nfight against and resist the anthropological machine (Agamben) which creates\nexclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many performances can be characterized by such notions as \u201cbeing with\u201d (Jean-Luc Nancy) or \u201cco-existence\u201d (Timothy Morton).The performances attempt to reflect co-existence in practice, which also means the practical applicationof ecological thinking. The common denominator of many performances is compassion. Compassion and ethical political considerations are present in the experimental performances of Reality Research Centre. In Plato\u00b4s Republic<\/em>, participants were invited to create a just and good state by preparing tasks in the durational process. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reality Research Centre, Plato\u2019s Republic<\/em>. Photo: Public domain (web<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There is, in\ncontemporary Finnish performance, a notable movement from text-based\ndramaturgical work towards collective dramaturgical work and collective\nauthorship. There are many groups, including WAUHAUS, Oblivia, Vibes and Blaue\nFrau, which share these working ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new collectives\ncreate transformative encounters and transformative, collective subjectivities.\nThe \u201cworks\u201d are no longer clearly defined performances tied to a specific space\nand time, but, rather, resemble happenings, encounters, lectures or city walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Political Basis, the Wounds of the Past, the Work\nof the Neoliberal Era<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Finland celebrated\nthe 100th anniversary of its independence in 2017. In 2018, the theatre looked\nto the scars of the past (the 1917 civil war), often with a critical gaze from\nthe micro perspective of the victims (\u201cthe Reds,\u201d who lost the war and whose\ndreams were crushed). In many performances, the protagonists were young women\nwho joined the Red Guard. The hidden and muted history was put on stage. KOM\nTheatre\u00b4s Blood Roses<\/em> (based on\nAnneli Kanto\u00b4s novel, directed by Lauri Maijala) is aware of the tradition of\npolitical theatre, but does not remain within it. The musical and physical\nperformance becomes like a Requiem with scenography, resembling Russian\nconstructivist scenography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Niko Saarela (left) and Juho Milonoff in Okko Leo\u2019s Eat Me: Punk Tragedy<\/em> at KOM Theatre, in 2018. Photo: Patrik Pesonius<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Much of contemporary,\npolitically engaged Finnish performance is concerned with the crisis of the\nwelfare state, and with debating and questioning the legitimacy of government\npolicy. In Finland, the arts, as well as discourse and rhetoric around arts\npolicy, have also been partially \u201ccaptured\u201d by economists and marketers. The\nvast majority of theatres are repertory theatres with a permanent ensemble. As\na labour-intensive sector, the theatre is a major employer. However, a clear\nshift in artistic work can be seen. Theatres are searching for cost savings and\nflexibility. The state-subsidized structure offers a decreasing number of\npermanent artistic contracts and guest positions. There has been a significant\nincrease in the number of freelancers in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of the\nfiscal and managerial crisis, the working conditions of performing arts\nprofessionals have become radically more unequal. There are and (will be in the\nfuture) more and more have-nots, self-employed people on low incomes and\njugglers of short-term projects. The polarization creates a \u201cclass society of\nthe theatre,\u201d where there are theatre professionals with permanent contracts\nand a steady income, who are relatively well-off, in contrast with a theatre\nprecariat marked by \u201cfinancial, social, existential insecurity,\u201d who are\nengaged in flexible forms of labour; such as freelancing, short term contracts,\ninternships and solo self-employment. The field of art will see a larger number\nof those falling through the cracks: low-income, self-employed entrepreneurs,\njuggling a fragmented palette of hybrid professions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performances show\nconcern about the impact of changes in our working lives. Several plays and\nperformances deal with global capitalism and neo-liberal values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okko Leo\u00b4s plays The Field, Orchestra <\/em>and Eat Me: A Punk Tragedy<\/em> form a trilogy\nthat depicts how different structures of power and repression infiltrate human\nrelationships, language and, even, the body. The dramas depict anonymous and\nfaceless oppression. The lives of the protagonists have descended into a verbal\ngame where the only point of reference for reality is to count the days. The\ntitular orchestra of the second play was, previously, about solidarity. Now,\nthe band members can only create a pitifully momentary, utopian illusion.\nPeople no longer have ideology, there are no parties or movements to articulate\nor politicize their situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eat Me <\/em>is a punk-tragedy set in a hamburger restaurant, where the power\nstruggle takes places between two workers. The powerlessness and exclusion\ncreate hatred and absolute indifference. Walter Benjamin\u2019s \u201cAngel of History\u201d\nis nowhere to be seen. Unlike in Michael Cross\u2019s 2016 film Second Nature,<\/em> there is no intervening power that changes the\nbrutal direction of history. There is not even the despair of hope here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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