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A performance about the ruins of war and the passion of heart
What these four women saw could turn into reality at any moment. A multidisciplinary stage art work about internal war of the mind in an imaginary city.
Hätätila – ‘state of emergency’ – is a show about four women who experienced war in their country of origin. Now they are living in a northern country far away from the chaos. But even though their corporal bodies are now safe, their souls are still reliving the horrors of war. Their traumas haunt them like a silent virus, tormenting their imagination and repeating scenes of destruction and death right before their minds’ eyes.
In this performance, we invite our audience to step into an imaginary world that grows from within these four women and stems from the images stored in their visions. A world where truth and stories intertwine and where a place of peace suddenly transforms into a terrain of terror.
The performance starts in a fantasy world where the women end up in imaginary European city ruins that still have clear, identifiable characteristics of well-known Western countries and war-torn cities. Movement, different soundscapes and visual storytelling move the story forward from there.
In the midst of it all, a fictitous dictator takes control of the city – and the women. A conflict breaks out, where the women rebel against the dictator’s authority and look for ways to survive and escape.
In the end, the women gather their strength and become free of their fears. They understand that what happened to them was only an illusion – but an illusion that carries a warning to the real world: We do not want to live through this kind of a nightmare. What these women saw could turn into reality at any moment. But there is always the chance to avoid this.
The work was inspired by the play L’État de siège (The State of Siege, 1948) written by Albert Camus. The production was implemented with the help of the World on Stage grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and project funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Content notes: The event includes depictions of war and crises.
The performance is intended for audiences over the age of 13.
The team
Bakr Hasan is an Iraq-born actor and theatre producer that became well-known in Finland with his work Bagdadin Julia (‘Julia of Baghdad’, 2022). Ethno Contemporary Ballet is a dance group, originally from Ukraine, featuring dancer and choreographer Nina Bulgakova and dancers Anastasiia Mostova and Kateryna Zhuravlova. The group is known for their expressive and evocative works and their international cooperation projects. Angela Aldebs is a Syria-born dancer and choreographer that has worked in several different productions with the Finnish National Theatre, for example. Kati Outinen is an iconic Finnish actress to whom the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck dedicated its Homage in 2024.
Markus Tsokkinen is a professional set designer, architect and organic farmer living in Sammatti. Anna Sinkkonen is a freelance costume designer and set designer from Helsinki who has worked in several different theatres and film and television productions. Kosti Kinnunen is a lighting and video designer from Kontiolahti who is in his third year of studying at the University of the Arts Helsinki in the Lighting Design degree programme. Touko Kemppainen is a third year sound design student at the Theatre Academy and a musician by previous education (Pop & Jazz Conservatory 2021).
Direction, screenplay: Bakr Hasan
Choreography: Alpo Aaltokoski
Assistant: Satu Rekola
Performers: Angela Aldebs, Nina Bulgakova, Anastasiia Mostova, Kati Outinen (on video), Kateryna Zhuravlova
Staging: Markus Tsokkinen
Light design, videos: Kosti Kinnunen
Sound design: Touko Kemppainen
Costume design: Anna Sinkkonen
Photos: Kai Kuusisto
Graphic design: Alexandra McCracken
Production, communications, translation of monologues: Helmi Saksala
In collaboration with: Kanneltalo
Duration: 1 h
Language of the event: Mainly a non-verbal performance that also uses some Finnish with English subtitles.
Performances: Kanneltalo (address: Klaneettitie 5, 00420 Helsinki)
Sat 8.11. at 6 pm Premiere
Tue 11.11. at 6 pm Audience discussion in English after the performance
Wed 12.11. at 6 pm Audience discussion in English after the performance
Thu 13.11. at 6 pm