Aniara continues the collaboration between the ensemble of Nälkäteatteri (hunger theatre) and the director Esa Kirkkopelto. Published in 1956 by the novelist Harry Martinson Aniara was translated into Finnish by A. Meriluoto in 1965. It is an epic sci-fi poem and a landmark of Nordic modernism, a pessimistic allegory of the post-war world where science and technology promote the destruction of the planet without any counterforce. To return to Aniara in the new millennium is to engage in a dialogue with the modernist tradition of the previous century. Despite the picture Aniara paints of itself, is it possible to find in it hope for the future, unfulfilled dreams or promises?

The members of the ensemble are Helsinki-based performers who have made their mark in alternative theatre and performance art. Since spring 2004, they have been working together in a theatre laboratory named In Alternate Spaces. The group's aesthetics aim to widen the limits of human experience towards non-human states of being and realms of alien experience. The non-verbal drama exercises performed by the group focus on the body in metamorphosis. One of the group's background influences is the European tradition of physical theatre which they seek to review critically. In Aniara the group will apply the results of these experiments.

with Ville Ahonen, Heikki Herva, Anna-Mari Karvonen, Katja Kiuru, Elina Latva, Mikko Lehtonen, Veikko Nuutinen, Mimosa Pale, Anni Tani, Kaisa-Liisa Tuominen, Ilona Valkonen, Sami Vehmersuo, Esa Kirkkopelto

Directing: Esa Kirkkopelto
Lighting: Janne Björklöf
Props and graphic design: Päivi Säävälä-Kirkkopelto
Video: Lauri Kontula
Information: www.toisissatiloissa.net