Pipsa Lonka to be Theatre Viirus’ resident playwright in 2026 

We are incredibly happy, proud and inspired by the opportunity to hire Pipsa Lonka as Viirus’ resident playwright for 2026.

Pipsa Lonka is one of Finland’s most significant and distinctive playwrights, whose work addresses the most acute and fascinating questions of our time, including the coexistence of humans and other species, empathy and communication.

Pictured: Pipsa Lonka (playwright), Essi Rossi (artistic director), Martin Bahne (administrative leader). Photographer: Darina Rodionova

Lonka’s language builds landscapes, space for coming together and rearranges our known reality. At the same time, her plays are impossible and challenge the concept of what a performance can be.

Two works by Lonka have previously premiered at Viirus, Den andra naturen (Toinen luonto, dir. Juni Klein, 2018) and fyra dagar av närhet (neljän päivän läheisyys, dir. Susanna Airaksinen, 2021).

In addition, Viirus is co-producing Lonka’s next premiere PETER LIVED IN A HOUSE – a dolphin from dot to dot (2026, by WAUHAUS, &Espoo Theatre, Viirus and BIT Teatergarasjen).

We see great value in committing to a continuing working relationship with Lonka in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Viirus.

Context

Hiring a resident playwright in a theatre the size of Viirus may seem paradoxical and confusing, because we are used to the industry not paying playwrights a proper salary.

However, for us, the choice was as easy as any other issue concerning ethics and sustainability: We wanted to commission a play for the anniversary of Viirus, and we wanted to pay for it.

Viirus also pays actors, producers, designers, audience workers, theatre pedagogues, technicians, front of house staff, Artistic Directors among others, so it seems obvious to also pay a monthly salary to a playwright.

We see that this choice is also related to the recent broader discussion about the livelihood of playwrights in Finland.*

The reality for playwrights in Finland is grim: plays are written with grants, without grants, and with compensations of a few thousand euros.

If a playwright’s text is performed in a theatre, the playwright receives 12% of the box office revenue (in the case of translations, this percentage is shared with the translator). It goes without saying that the size of the audience and how many tickets the work sells affect the revenue compensation.

Sometimes, such as during the pandemic, performance seasons are cut short, or a theater may decide not to perform a commissioned and written play, in which case there is no box office revenue.

Solution

Viirus is, compared to many other theatres, a small institution, but our intention to change the structures of the field in a more sustainable direction is strong.

Hiring a resident playwright is a step towards more sustainable work. If we are not prepared to pay for the work of playwrights, soon we will no longer have dramatic literature written by Finns. We need drama texts so that we can enable diverse performing arts field and meaningful audience experiences in the Finnish arts scene. We also want artists to have the opportunity to focus on making art.

Lonka’s duties include writing one play during her employment. In addition, her duties include acting as a consulting dramaturg and supporting Viirus’ artistic department.

The project is made possible by Viirus’s funders, well-executed long-term financial planning, and the fact that the cuts in state grants for the 2025 operating year are slightly smaller than expected.

Long live Finnish drama literature!

We warmly welcome you to attend the 40th anniversary play of Viirus in the fall of 2027.

Partners

Viirus’s largest funders are the Ministry of Education and Culture, the City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden, Stiftelsen Tre Smeder, Amos Andersons fond, Stiftelsen Kvarteret Victoria, William Thurings stiftelse, Stiftelsen Emilie och Rudolf Gesellius fond, Otto A. Malms donationsfond, Eugène, Elisabeth och Birgit Nygréns stiftelse.

Contact information

Essi Rossi (Artistic Director), Martin Bahne (Head of Administration and Economics)
Telephone: +35840 563 7026 (Essi), +35850 554 7737 (Martin)
E-mail: essi.rossi@viirus.fi, martin.bahne@viirus.fi
Press photos, photographer Darina Rodionova: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nRzMhYAAnpwCWJee_ShUiJ7AVTumf4yI?usp=drive_link

Related articles:

*
Arttu Seppänen: Viimeinen sammuttaa valot: Kirjailija Niko Hallikainen julkaisi kolmannen romaaninsa Prima Materia ilmaiseksi nettisivuillaan (Long play 11/2025) https://www.longplay.fi/kulttuuri/viimeinen-sammuttaa-valot

Pontus Purokuru: Missä rahat? Kirjallisuus on tällä hetkellä mahdollista vain, koska kirjailijat tekevät työtä ilmaiseksi (Substack, 11/2025) https://substack.com/inbox/post/177351579?r=2xiuf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false&triedRedirect=true

Anu Silfverberg: Long playn perjantaikirje (Long play, 11/2025)
https://mailchi.mp/longplay.fi/kirjailija-ei-ole-8259189?e=a73a445cc0

Viirus is an artistic Swedish speaking ensemble theatre company in Helsinki, Finland.