New Plays from Finland
Laura Gustafsson
Laura Gustafsson (born 1983) is a Helsinki-based playwright and novelist and one of Finland’s rising young talents. Her debut novel, Whore Fable (Huorasatu, 2010), is based on her play of the same name and was nominated in 2011 for the prestigious Finlandia Prize as well as for the debut novelist’s award granted by Helsingin Sanomat. Her other written works include Anomaly (Anomalia, 2013), Wilderness Warrior (Korpisoturi, 2016), and The Bottom (Pohja, 2017). Most recently she has published two novels: Rehab (2020) and Nothing really disappears (Mikään ei todella katoa, 2023).
Gustafsson’s works exhibit extremities on both dramatic and linguistic levels without ever sliding into sensationalism or empty exaggeration. Her plays can be equally thought-provoking as they can be shocking, as well as being as honest as they can be direct.
In addition to her theatrical background, she has also worked in the field television, and in the field of visual art in collaboration with Terike Haapoja. Their artistic-scientific project named Others’ History (Toisten Historia) explores Earth’s history from the perspective of animals, and it received the state’s Award for Media Art (Mediataiteen valtionpalkinto) in 2016.
The Museum of Becoming was featured at the Helsinki Art Museum in 2020. The latest art work, Pigs (Siat, 2021), created a controversy when exhibited at the Seinäjoki Art Hall, as it addressed the animal industry, located next to Atria's – a company producing mainly meat products – headquarters.
