Viirus GUEST spring 2026
The melancholic downhill of the bourgeoisie, political bodies and the worlds of the subconscious in Viirus GUEST-repertoire the upcoming spring
The repertoire for Viirus GUEST spring of 2026 has been published and to be blunt: it is fantastic!
The season begins with an obscene stage rejoicement with Swedish Asshole that mocks and picks apart the Fenno-Swedish identity as a phenomenon, as a state of being and as a style. The performance questions the dominating whiteness of our culture, and places itself painfully between Sweden and Finland, in the middle-ground between East and West. The characters in the performance suffer from both an inferiority complex as well as delusions of grandeur, from being Finnish and from being Swedish. The performance may cause hurt feelings, as well as healthy emotions like self-irony amongst the Fenno-Swedish, white people, the Swedish Swedish, the Finnish and lovers of reality-TV.
The directors and performers are the hot young names of the Fenno-Swedish and Finnish theatre, such as Antonia Atarah, Johanna Karlberg and Alen Nsambu.
Antonia Atarah, Johanna Karlberg, Alen Nsambu: Swedish Asshole
Working group: Antonia Atarah, Johanna Karlberg, Alen Nsambu, Nicolas Leissi Rehn, Kristian Palmu, Mikko Salminen, Mirjam Yeboah, Even Minn, Marthe Nyvoll, Akademiska Sångföreningen
Performances: 4-24.3.2026, read more
Photo: Marthe Nyvoll
The international GUEST-production of the season comes from Sweden. Olof Runsten, the director from the younger generation, brings with him a humoristic gothic horror piece Marthas hus (Martha’s House, directly translated) that delves into bourgeois values and pettiness. The performance is loosely based on the film Martha (1974) by Rainer Weiner Fassbinder and the short story For the Rest of Her Life by Cornell Woolrich.
The David Lynchian esthetics reveal a sharp criticism towards today’s conservative and bourgeois family values. The endless pursuit of romantic love in relationships, nuclear family and normativity that fits the current political climate drives people into existential crises and suffocating boredom.
Olof Runsten is one of the most interesting younger directors in Sweden. A typical element in his work is the playful exploration of visual and spatial choreographies. Runsten’s work has been shown for example in Stockholm at TurTeatern, in Göteborg at Folkteatern, Oslo’s BlackBox Theater and at Tou Scene in Stavanger, Norway. This is Runsten’s first time visiting Finland.
Olof Runsten (SE): Marthas hus
Working group: Olof Runsten, Anna Ladegaard, Josephine Kylén Collins, Tove Dreiman, Christoffer Lloyd, Adde Andreas Huumonen, Frida Hamberg Stén, Dramageddon, Interim Kultur
Performances: 10-11.4.2026, read more
Photo: Tove Dreiman
To be brutally honest, by dance artist-choreographers Samuli Emery and Jessica Piasecki, had its premiere in the spring of 2022 at Zodiak – Center for New Dance. The piece that proclaims the freedom, anxiety and joy of making art, became the topic of every discussion that spring. In April of 2026, Emery and Piasecki will bring the long awaited 2.0 version of the same performance to Viirus. This time the piece and the artists are endeavoring to jolt the structures of the bourgeois, middle class, capitalistic theatre institutions, like Viirus for example, and at the same time celebrate artistic freedom and rebellion with love and compassion. Viirus is excited for the discussions and the celebrations that the piece will awaken within its’ walls as well as within the performing arts in general.
Jessica Piasecki, Samuli Emery: to be brutally honest 2.0
Working group: Jessica Piasecki ja Samuli Emery, Nori Kin, Lea Lintula, Alsa Ojala, Antti Kemppainen, Zodiak – uuden tanssin keskus
Performances: 21-29.4.2026, read more
Photo: Jussi Ulkuniemi
The piece Ashla: Underdogs will premiere in Viirus’ Main Hall in the beginning of May. The performance is made by the Iranian and Finland-based director Homa Shokri and the working group. The performance describes how violence and political climate influence the body, causing it to turn inwards and become paralyzed. The themes portrayed on stage are connected to real events in the Middle East, where systemic oppression and violence become normalized and mundane. The performance explores how the political body can function as an instrument of resistance and civil disobedience, as well as being a tool of the stage and arts.
Homa Shokri and working group: Ashla: Underdogs
Working group: Homa Shokri, Anni Kanerva Hernetkoski, Katinka Ebbe, Jekaterina Viltšenko, Noon MA, Sonjis Laine, Chen Nadler, Sointu Saraste, Shima Anjidani, Aliisa Kattelus
Performances: 5-12.5.2026, read more
Illustration: Shima Anjidani
In her work Puija, Suvi Kemppainen summons invisible worlds and encourages us to lift our subconscious and fantasy as a counterforce for the rational and normative society of today. Puija is the name of the imaginary friend Kemppainen had as a child. The performance invites the audience to succumb to the realities of childhood, the memory of the body, and it creates otherworldly companionships. Inner worlds and the unconscious become materialized on stage in this enchanting, audiovisual and intense performance.
Puija premiered in October 2024 in Ehkä- production’s space for contemporary performance Kutomo in Turku. Puija will be performed for the first time in Helsinki at Viirus.
Suvi Kemppainen: Puija
Working group: Suvi Kemppainen, Silja Tuovinen, Reetta Nummi, Mateus Manninen, Corinne Mustonen, Kiana Rezvani, Even Minn, Ehkä-tuotanto
Performances: 15-28.5.2026, read more
Photo: Satu Kemppainen
The recently finished autumn GUEST season was a success, both in audience numbers as well as artistically. The performances of the season attracted a wide audience and started conversations, for example about the relationship between humans and animals, and the narrow portrayal of human bodies both on stage and in film. The percentage of seats filled per audience in this year’s GUEST-repertoire is a record-breaking 83%. In the repertoire we had Fat Romeo & Juliet by Herman Nyby and Niina Hosiasluoma, Ex Ruina Floreat by Karolina Ginman, Rasmus Slätis, Joona Leppänen and Fabian Nyberg, Mabel Revival by Liisa Pentti+Co, and Animal Beings! by Juha Valkeapää.
Due to high demand, Fat Romeo & Juliet by Hosiasluoma and Nyby will return for additional performances in January of 2026.
The yearly open call collected 94 applications this year. Of these 94, approximately ten will be chosen for the repertoire of 2027 and 2028. Applications came in not only from Finland, but also from other Nordic countries, the Baltics, and different parts of Europe. The artistic thinking and quality displayed in the applications was impressive, which is promising for the coming years in the Finnish performing arts scene!