ABSTRACT
The Finnish National Theatre’s artistic team in the 1970s included few representatives from the 1960s generation. There was an atmosphere of mutual distrust between the politicised faction of the 1960s generation and the leadership at the National Theatre. When the artistic team went through a major demographic shift at the end of the next decade, becoming considerably younger, the newcomers represented the generation that came after the radical 1960s generation. The actors were the single biggest group of staff, and they played a significant role when it came to wetting audience appetites. The permanent stage directors attached to the Theatre were few, and the first new directors were born back in the 1920s or 1930s. The boundary between permanent and visiting stage directors was blurred by visiting directors being occasionally hired to direct more than one production. The increase in the number of visiting directors from abroad helped to fulfil the Theatre’s need for experienced stage directors. Most of them were globally renowned, and many came from Eastern Europe and were critical of the politics of their native countries.
