ABSTRACT
This chapter testifies of that the National Theatre Director did not reject the modernist leanings of his predecessor, but as with the rest of the programming, he started by re-angling it towards finding slightly rarer dramatic works. As the acting troupe at the Theatre became younger in the early 1990s, classic modern drama offered challenging roles for younger actors who had found the style of great tragedies alienating. Anglo-American plays entered the Theatre’s repertoire in accordance with an accepted formula: first the ‘big’ dramas that had been rarely staged in Finland before were shown on the traditional stages, and then from the 1980s onwards, known and popular plays were staged on the Theatre’s smaller stages. With the completion of the Willensauna stage and the Omapohja studio space, familiar texts were experienced in a more intimate relationship with their audience. The Theatre was also intrigued by the innovative atmosphere of the early years of the Soviet Union. Modern dramas from the German-speaking world were particularly in vogue in the 1970s.
