ACHEULIAN THEATRE

Acheulian Theatre have been awarded a two month residency by the Kone Foundation to develop work based on the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. 

 

For two months we will be staying at the beautiful Saari residency in Finland, beginning a large scale investigation into contemporary female masks. Our research begins as we look into the mystics, hags and wenches of the Kalevala, and explore the wild native landscapes of north Karelia where the stories were collected. 2015 is the Kalevala jubilee year - celebrating 150 years since the first publication by Elias Lonnrot. Traditionally sung by travelling poets, the stories are a rich source of mythical imagery and folklore; bloody battles, iron forging, weddings, beddings, and shape-shifting shamans, giant fish, man-eating giants, zithers, singers, magical boats and terrifying, fantastic creatures that emerge from the depths of Finland's freezing lakes. Delving into contemporary ideas of 'femaleness' and violence, we hope to scale the loaded territories of gender politics and plunge instead into the deeper mysteries of the female in us all. 

 

You can read more about how the project is developing by clicking on the link to our blog.