Purge by Sofi Oksanen - UK premiere at Arcola Theatre
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22.02.2012 - 24.03.2012
22 February - 24 March 2012 at 8.00pm
Sat matinees - 3, 10, 17 and 24 March at 3pm
Press Night Friday 24 February 2012 at 7pm
Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, London E8 3DL
“The night we were all taken away for questioning...
you know, that night everything changed.”
Recognised as a potential Nobel prize-winner by the Swedish press, Sofi Oksanen reveals the fallout from the Soviet occupation of Estonia and the country’s independence in 1991 with this thrilling story of suspicion, secrets, betrayal and atonement.
A startling play and a best-selling novel Purge is the story of two women, Zara and Aliide, each from different generations, each troubled by a shameful past, and the dark unspoken history that binds them.
Originally written for and performed at the National Theatre of Finland, Oksanen transformed Purge from a play into a novel, which then became an international best-seller. Translated into over 38 languages, it was published in English in 2010 and was the Sunday Times Book of the Year.
With a Finnish father and an Estonian mother, Oksanen’s work has found a large audience throughout Europe. Her novel Purge has many avid readers and has won her numerous literary awards. The play has proved no less popular and the coming months will see twelve separate theatre productions of Purge open across Europe. Director Elgiva Field’s production at the Arcola marks the first time that the play has been seen in the UK.
Narrated through multiple story lines, Purge moves back and forth across time in a powerful drama that offers an unflinching exploration of the loss of freedom and the bitter price of survival.
Borealis Theatre brings the British premiere of Purge to London’s Arcola Theatre, whose history of presenting cutting edge writing from around the world makes it the ideal home for the play’s UK theatre debut.
The producers gratefully acknowledge the support of the Finnish and Estonian Embassies in this production of Purge, who say “This is a very exciting production for us; bringing one of Finland’s great playwrights and the country of Estonia to the UK stage”.
Press night on 24th February will coincide with Estonian Independence day, which was celebrated on this day until the Soviet occupation in 1940. Following the restoration of the country’s independence, the 24th became a public holiday.
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