The first step is the only difficulty


The international theatre festival Modern Theatre of Finland in Petrozavodsk has come to the end on May 29. Within foue days from May 24 to May 28 , just as expected its organizers – the Union of stage directors of Finland and National Theatre of Karelia –Petrozavodsk has held performances on modern Finnish plays and lively discussion of new Finnish dramatic art at seminars, and playing of passages from plays of modern Finnish playwrights.

As the festival has shown, theatre of the country of Suomi is mainly social, frequently being a doctor, and spectators come to identify themselves with heroes of plays and to try to understand themselves, and also not to stay alone with their fears and troubles.


Performances of theatres from towns of Kotka, Lappeenranta, Tampere and Helsinki have caused polar opinions in our public. That's the festival is for to show what goes on in the theatre of the neighbouring country and perhaps to consider what spectators and theatre of our country might need.

Not without reason the Modern Theatre of Finland festival has gathered a great number of directors, playwrights, theatrical critics, directors of theatres and heads of theatrical projects from Finland, as well as from Moscow, St.-Petersburg, Republic of Mari-El, Republic of Mordovia, the Komi-Permyatski Autonomous District, Murmansk, and Omsk.


The most easy is to turn away from what is not always clear. Or try not to notice it. However, for the National Theatre that has always been at the centre of social problems such position is unacceptable. It is necessary to move towards to understand each other better.


It is no coincidence that at the opening ceremony Director of the National Theatre of Karelia Sergey Pronin has presented President of the Union of stage directors of Finland Atro Kahiluoto with Finnish pieks boots. This gift is a nice and good symbol: in the 1930s Finns who have come to our country from America, Canada and Finlandhave founded the National Theatre of Karelia. In many respects this theatre unacquainted with Russian theatre school, has approached it, mastered it and became one of the best domestic theatres personifying psychological theatre. Recieving the gift, Atro Kahiluoto has told, that the first step to the goal is the only difficulty. The most important is that it has been made.


Dmitry Svintsov

Photo by: Dmitry Cherevko

National Theatre of Karelia


Ministry of Culture and Public Relations of the RK