Southerners

Southerners is a performance about self-esteem - pride, shame, and compassion. Actress Ella Lahdenmäki and composer-musician Tapio Viitasaari explore what it means to grow up on the plains and leave them behind.

The work is rooted in the creators' personal experiences and uses objects and documents they have preserved over the years as relics - markers of achievements or reminders of change. The performance nods to the play Southerners and Häjy, delving into the heart of southern identity: how the creators' identities were built on southern foundations, and what sacrifices the performing artists have had to make on their journey to Punavuori and the contemporary art stage.

Lahdenmäki and Viitasaari first met at the Theatre Academy entrance exams in 2007, when they performed together in the final stage of the tests. Southerners is their first collaborative work - and at the same time a kind of homecoming.

Premiere 11.9.2026 at 19.00. Other performances: 15.9. / 18.9. / 22.9. / 25.9. at 19.00 and 19.9. / 26.9. at 14.00. Tickets 16-36 € from Ticketmaster, duration open. The performance is in Finnish.