‘AENEAS, MIGRATION AND EUROPE’, A THEATRICAL WORK IN PROGRESS PERFORMED AT MEIDÄN FESTIVAALI 

Tuusula 31th of July, 2021

Our GAP LAB project with Meidän Festivaali that was postponed because of Coronavirus last year has been finally realised! The international group formed by the stellar UK-based arts production house Dash Arts that was selected for a week-long residency at the festival produced an immersive theatre production – a contemporary reimagining of Virgil’s Aeneid. The work explores contemporary European identity and tackles challenging questions about the future of free movement and the importance of cultural understanding.

The performance was revealed on the closing day of the festival. The second part is yet to come!

CREW:
Josephine Burton, director
Marouf Majidi, composition
Hattie Naylor, playwright
Tuukka Leppänen, actor-musician
Samira Brahmia, actor-musician
Riku Kantola, composer-arranger

This project has received support from the Institut finlandais, the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland and the TelepART Mobility Support Platform. The GAP LAB project has been generically supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

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Our Festival (in Finnish: Meidän Festivaali) is renowned for its fresh approach to the arts and crossover events. The bold, open-minded and socially aware event was first held in 1997 as Chamber Music by Lake Tuusula and is now an annual event.

The shores of Lake Tuusula provide a backdrop for a unique journey into Finland’s rich cultural history, for it is here that Jean Sibelius, Pekka Halonen, Eero Järnefelt and other artists of ”the Golden Era” once made their homes. The event, originally called Chamber Music by Lake Tuusula, was renamed Our Festival in 2010.

Under its past Artistic Director Pekka Kuusisto the festival built a reputation as a bold, yet subtle and gentle event, that aims to open up it’s audiences ears and minds. The Festival seeks new perspectives on musical encounters and concert practices, with an aim to give the audience an experience that simply is not available elsewhere. Combining a unique group of musicians, designers and artists from Finland and abroad, the festival is a celebration of creativity and communication in the arts. The current Artistic Director Kamus Quartet started their tenure in summer 2019, and we can expect more unique, intimate chamber art experiences to come.

Our Festival has been recognized with awards such as the accolade of Festival of the Year in 2011 by Finland Festivals and Finland’s State Prize for Music in year 2013. Our Festival is organised by the Järvenpää Sibelius Society.