10.09.2026

Arda Salaniemi’s Hornblende takes the stage in Tartu

 

Finnish playwright Arda Salaniemi participates in the NEW NORTH reading event in Tartu, Estonia, on 12 September. Her play Hornblende (Sarvivälke) will be presented in Estonian in a staged reading directed by Oskar Viirand, introducing Salaniemi’s work to Estonian theatre professionals and audiences.

Finnish playwright Arda Salaniemi is heading to Tartu, Estonia, where her play Hornblende (Sarvivälke) will be presented as part of NEW NORTH, a theatre laboratory bringing contemporary Nordic drama together with emerging Estonian directors.

On 12 September, four Nordic plays will receive public staged readings at Tartu New Theatre. Estonian director Oskar Viirand has chosen Salaniemi’s Hornblende, preparing an approximately 30-minute excerpt from Maimu Berg's translation during an intensive week of rehearsals. The excerpt will be performed in Estonian, with simultaneous interpretation into English, followed by a discussion.

Hornblende follows Amalia, a young woman whose thoughts move in endless circles as she becomes increasingly fixated on a man she barely knows. Salaniemi has described the monologue as an exploration of what it is like to live with these recurring patterns of thought and how they shape our relationships with others. The play previously represented Finland at the New Nordic Voices showcase in London in 2021.

NEW NORTH introduces Nordic playwrights and texts not previously known to the Estonian theatre scene while giving emerging directors space to experiment with new dramatic writing. The plays have been selected together with Nordic partners, with TINFO representing Finland. The project is organised in collaboration with the The Estonian Theatre Festival DRAAMA, Estonian Theatre Agency and the Estonian Directors’ and Dramaturgs’ Union. The project is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Swedish-Estonian Cooperation Fund.

 

TINFO 10 September 2026

Photo: Antti Rintala