The performance “Hyperborean” was presented on the stage of the National Theater of Karelia

On October 7, 2023, the premiere of the play “Hyperborean” in the Karelian language took place at the National Theater of Karelia.

Director Egor Chernyshov and playwright Anastasia Bukreeva, when creating a new performance of the National Theater of Karelia “Hyperborean”, turned to the intangible heritage of Karelia – the epic poem “Kalevale”, Karelian legends and myths. Revising the textbook plots from the perspective of a modern person and breaking established stereotypes, the authors of the production bring to the fore simple human relationships and personal qualities.

The characters of Elias Lennroth’s epic poem are no longer superheroes with supernatural abilities, but ordinary people with their earthly passions.The main character Lemminkainen embarks on a long journey full of trials and mistakes, the purpose of which is not a feat in the name of humanity, but the search for his destiny, finding himself. In this way, the “merry man” is not helped by gods and magical powers, but first of all by real male friendship and family. A friend saves him from death at the cost of his own life. The mother, being the keeper of the original image and name, reassembles his present, dismissing all unnecessary and alluvial. The father, whom Lemminkainen considered an inhabitant of the legendary Hyperborea, and found on the other side of life, reveals to his son the truth: they are both mere mortals. Only a mortal, unlike the gods, is given the right to choose, and from this decision depends on who and what to become.