Finnish Plays and Authors

Salaniemi, Arda

Arda Salaniemi​ (born 1992) is a Finnish-Turkish playwright, writer, critic, and freelance journalist. As a critic, she is especially known for her restaurant reviews for the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. She holds a Ba...

Kaartinen, Kati

Kati Kaartinen (born 1972) is a playwright, screenwriter, and dramaturg based in Helsinki. Kaartinen graduated from the Helsinki Theatre Academy in 2002, majoring in directing and dramaturgy. Her plays deal with melancholic top...

Kuittinen, Saaramaria

Saaramaria Kuittinen is a poet and a playwright, who wonders what it means to be an artist in the time of collapse. She believes in creativity as a tool for change. She wants to be still, seek and be confused. She relies on cre...

Karhu, E.L.

E.L. Karhu (b. 1982) is a poet of the stage. She writes plays that are clear and crystallized in their language and theatricality, yet full of life. Karhu asks us what is madness and what is sanity, how one can live ethically i...

Juutinen, Jari

Playwright and director Jari Juutinen (b. 1959) does not shy away from difficult subjects. In I am Adolf Eichmann (2005) he shows us the man behind the war criminal. In Juliet, Juliet! (2007) he criticizes the destructive force...

Viikka, Salla

In the plays of Salla Viikka (b. 1975) the surface of humdrum everyday life is gradually and almost imperceptibly ripped apart until we are faced with a multitude of new, possible and impossible realities. With her poetic and p...

Turunen, Eeva

Eeva Turunen burst onto the Finnish theatrical scene in 2015 with her debut monologue Muutama sana Ullasta. An intense and subtly humorous study of obsessive compulsive behavior, the play was an immediate success and gained fi...

Mikkola, Antti

History, politics, gender and public image. Antti Mikkola (b. 1978) broaches big subjects and turns them into a lively, accessible and engaging evening of theatre. He creates dynamic, emotionally charged characters whose scin...

Turunen, Saara

www.saaraturunen.comIf you'd like to read one of these plays, please e-mail us at office@dramacorner.fi for a copy.Saara Turunen (b. 1981), one of the most powerful playwrights of her generation, was born in Eastern Finland. Sh...

Smeds, Kristian

When Kristian Smeds (b. 1970) speaks, people listen. One of Finland’s top writers and directors, from the very beginning of his career Smeds has shown that he has much to say and the ability to say it. He’s just as much at home...

Salo, Elisa

In Elisa Salo’s plays, reality and fantasy blend in surprising, fun, and bewildering ways. Many of her texts are targeted at children and youth, but their inventiveness and humanity have charmed viewers of all ages. Salo, who b...

Salminen, Arto

Beginning in the mid 1990s, Arto Salminen (1959-2005) shocked, amused and irritated readers with his racy and raw novels describing the underside of society. Salminen made visible the sides of Finland which nobody in polite cir...

Nuutinen, Veikko

Veikko Nuutinen’s (b. 1981) plays are characterized by hidden, inexplicable threat. From beneath the protective layers of everyday life, something dark and incontrollable is gradually exposed.Nuutinen finds the violence in word...

Ruohonen, Laura

Whether depicting a seventeenth-century court or a modern apartment block, Laura Ruohonen (b. 1960) creates her own special world in her plays. Ruohonen’s texts are both poetic and down-to-earth, combining humour and tragedy in...

Niemi, Marjo

Marjo Niemi (b. 1978) graduated from the Theater Academy Helsinki in 2004, with a degree in dramaturgy. In addition to being a playwright, Niemi is a novelist and song-writer. With her powerful and beautifully written plays, sh...

Mäkelä, Hannu

Since the 1960s, Hannu Mäkelä’s (b. 1943) thoughtful and linguistically-innovative works have been enriching Finnish culture. Mäkelä is a productive and original writer, whose prose, poetry and plays have been praised for their...

Myllyaho, Mika

Becoming a writer was a natural step for Mika Myllyaho (b. 1966), who is one of the leading directors in Finland. Myllyaho has always been an innovative theatre practitioner, whose vision and artistry have produced a number of ...

Moila, Jussi

Jussi Moila (b. 1981), if anyone, has his own voice – or perhaps more accurately, many voices. Namely, a stream of voices, identities, and images marked by a stunningly idiosyncratic theatrical touch flows throughout his plays...

Meri, Veijo

Veijo Meri (1928 - 2015) was one Finland's most important twentieth-century writers. He was a pioneer of 1950s modernism, introducing a new and personal voice to Finnish literature. Over the years, he rose to the status of a li...

Lehtola, Juha

Theatre cannot be safe. Its fundamental characteristic is to surprise. (Turun Sanomat 30.12.1998) Juha Lehtola (b. 1966) writes intelligent and thoughtful comedies about contemporary life, tinged with melancholy. In addition to...

Lampela, Pasi

Pasi Lampela (b. 1969) Pasi Lampela is one of the most productive and topical Finnish playwrights of his generation. His plays examine the problems of modern life and its hidden pressure points by combining tragedy and comedy. ...

Lahti, Ari-Pekka

The hinterlands and forests of the North are the natural milieu for Ari-Pekka Lahti. Lahti is originally a biologist, and in his plays one can hear a deep concern for the state of the environment and the fate of the indigenous ...

Krohn, Katja

Katja Krohn's (b. 1966) funny and anarchic plays are entertaining for audiences of all ages, in no small part due to their fast-paced yet sensitive handling of their subjects. In her work, familiar patterns are turned upside do...

Krogerus, Anna

Anna Krogerus (b. 1974) writes sensitive and multi-layered plays, full of deeply introspective characters who find themselves balancing between anxiety and joy. Krogerus's precise portrayals, coupled with her insightful use of ...

Klemola, Leea

"I deliberately try to avoid all methods." (Kiasma Magazine 5/99) Leea Klemola (B. 1965) is one of the most interesting and indeed shocking theatre practitioners in Finland today. She began her career as an actress. In her play...

Kautto, Otso

”The task of the artist is to dive into hell and bring back treasures for others.” (Teatteri-lehti 6/2008) Otso Kautto (b. 1962) resists being labeled. The former national-class swimmer is now one of Finland’s leading theater ...

Jokela, Juha

Juha Jokela (b. 1970) is a modern writer in the best sense of the word. His witty and surprising humour, compelling narratives and nuanced characterizations are tightly bound to the present moment. Whether focusing his sharp vi...

Hotakainen, Kari

Kari Hotakainen (b. 1957) is one of Finland's most significant and popular novelists, whose work includes poetry, children's literature and drama for the stage, television and radio. He writes about deadly serious people who co...

Hietala, Antti

Violence, sexuality and religion are only a few of the deep themes Antti Hietala's plays deal with. In his works history and the present are equally tangible and a bright, revealing light is focused on the darker side of the hu...