Sirkku Peltola
Curriculum vitae
Sirkku Peltola, born in 1960, is one of Finland's most frequently performed playwrights, a distinguished director and the recipient of several drama awards.
Sirkku Peltola studied dramatic literature at the University of Jyväskylä. She was an active member of the student theatre, where she was able to experiment and look for her own voice. After finishing her studies in 1987 she worked as a director and actress in the municipal theatres of Kuopio and Lahti. Since 2000, she is based at the TTT-Theatre in Tampere as a resident director and playwright.
Plays (names in draft translations):
Pikku Jättiläinen (Small giant) 1985
Maailman Baari (Global bar) 1986
Variksen veli (The Crow’s Brother, translated into English by Anselm Hollo) 1990
Tähtitaivaankatu 3 (Starry Sky Street 3) 1993
Puuttuva pala (The missing piece) 1994
Kaunotar ja hirviö (Beauty and the beast) 1995
Beatlehem (with Heikki Salo) 1996
Sokeria! Sokeria! (Sugar! Sugar!) 1996
Muovikassissa kaikki (Everything in a plastic bag; Tutto in una busta di plastica, translated into Italian by Cilla Back) 1996
Kaikkihan me onnumme (We are all limping) 1997
Annetaan hääpuku pois (Free! Wedding dress) 1997
Pastori Tarsalainen ja viidakon lait (Reverend Tarsalainen and the jungle laws) 1997
Knut Pitkäjalka (Knut Longfoot) 1999
Haikarapolska (The stork polska) 1999
Mummun saappaassa soi fox (Gran’s Wellington Fox, translated into English by Eva Buchwald) 2000
Suomen hevonen (The Finnhorse, translated into English by Eva Buchwald) 2004
Patukkaooppera (The Health Bar Opera) 2007
Peltola’s works describe with crystal clear insight the world we live in with all its bizarre families, its misfits from the margins of society and with communities reflecting elements of social change. Her texts embrace contemporary social issues.
Peltola writes directly for the stage, with her director-self firmly seated next to her writer-self. Even as she writes, her mind conjures up a vivid image of the tempo, the lighting, the atmosphere and possibly even the actors.
Audiences all over Finland identify with Peltola’s often hilarious yet deeply tragic characters. The dialogues are light and airy – a rapid volley, rich in sub-text, which allows the actors plenty of room for interpretation. She employs all the colors of modern slang and is no stranger to dialect. Her ear is attuned to the tones and rhythms of everyday speech and her plays combine deadpan realism with a sense of the grotesque. In Peltola’s work, the poignantly funny absurdities of everyday life are brought sharply into focus.