Niina Lindroos & Tehdas Theatre (Finland)

The starting point for the piece was the puppet theatre-like presence of Dora Maar’s surrealist photographs; the situations, spaces and characters in the images all lead towards something words cannot express. What is left outside the photograph frames? What happens before and after the brief moment that is captured on film?

The Unmentionable keenly perceives Dora Maar’s oeuvre, approaches it with awe and playfulness, finally passionately plunges into its world. The performance depicts melancholy as well as the titillating sense of mystery, two feelings that create the characteristic tension in the artist’s works. The solo bows to Dora Maar’s art yet also creates its own, indescribable reality with the means of puppetry arts.

BIO

Niina Lindroos is a director, actress and puppeteer. In her puppet making, Niina Lindroos favours deformity, grotesqueness and the beauty found in imperfection. She combines costume design with puppet theatre arts and has, for example, made puppets consisting of full-body masks to be worn by the performer. 

Niina graduated from the Turku Arts Academy Academy as a puppet theatre professional in 2007. Since then she has produced professional puppet theatre performances in Turku, Helsinki, Vienna and Prague.

_CREDITS

_{Direction and dramaturgy: Niina Lindroos, Elina Sarno Performer and puppet construction: Niina Lindroos Lighting design: Essi Santala Sound design: Henri Hyökyvirta Costumes: Riikka Mellin and work group Logistics and visual assistance: Jenni Rutanen Scenography: Working group Photography: Maija Kurki Production: Niina Lindroos, Tehdas Teatteri Support: Finnish Cultural Fund, Varsinais-Suomi Regional Fund, Finnish Arts Promotion Centre, Arts Council of Varsinais-Suomi, TOP-Foundation, City of Turku, Cultural Committee, Turku Theater Foundation, Puppet art network Aura of Puppets}