Teatteri Metamorfoosi in Association with From Start to Finnish Presents THE SAUNA

In a show about the different stages a woman's body goes through in life, Helsinki-based mask company Teatteri Metamorfoosi uses the Finnish mythology surrounding saunas to take their aging character through her memories. Sitting in a sauna, a woman is waiting to die, but she is distracting by a mythical creature, the elf of the sauna, who evokes memories to take her through the chapters of her womanhood. Using masks, live sound effects and original music, The Sauna offers a relaxing and meditative space to contemplate and cleanse.

In Finland, saunas are deeply rooted in the culture and history as the place of birth, death, cleansing and contemplation. Sauna folklore often features a sauna spirit or elf who was believed to look after the sauna and saunagoers. The elf was also said to make sure saunagoers behaved themselves.

Director Soile Mäkelä said, "I was in a commedia dell'arte workshop in Italy and my teacher Mario Gonzalez had laid tens of different Arlecchino masks on the floor for to us participants to choose to work with. They were all but one made out of leather. Maybe because I'm Finnish, I chose the wooden one.

"It happens often to me that when I am out of my country I suddenly feel as if I'm a representative of Finland instead of an individual member of the world. And when I began to be patriotic, I talk highly of Finnish forests and start to miss salty liquorice and sauna. So the wooden mask activated a Finn in me and I started to think of sauna... The story was not born yet at this point, but I made a decision to create masks for three different states of life and start to build a show around youth, middle age and old age in the mythical and historical contexts of sauna."

Teatteri Metamorfoosi is a physical theatre company, specialised in mask theatre, object theatre and theatre clowning. The company was found in Helsinki, Finland in 2005 by theatre teacher and director Soile Mäkelä, theatre director Davide Giovanzana from Switzerland and sculptor Laura Mäkelä.

From Start to Finnish is an annual showcase presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that represents the best in Finnish performing arts. Now in its eighth year, From Start to Finnish 2018 will also feature Cock, Cock...Who's There? and All the Lights Are On at Summerhall, This is the title at Dance Base, The Artist at Assembly Roxy and Wiredo at C South. From Start to Finnish productions have received critical acclaim in Edinburgh and gone on to tour China, America and several countries in Europe.

@metamorfoosi | @StarttoFinnish | #thesaunashow | starttofinnish.fi | www.metamorfoosi.com

Photo credit Soile Makela

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