2025
Oulu Theatre

Direction: Anne Rautiainen
Sound Design and Music: Viljami Lehtonen
Set Design: Kalle Nurminen
Costume Design: Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila
Lighting Design: Jukka Kyllönen
Choreography: Jenni Nikolajeff
On Stage: Elviira Kujala, Joose Mikkonen, Timo Pesonen, Janne Raudaskoski, Titta Toivanen, Tuula Väänänen, Mirjami Kukkola, Aki Pelkonen, Heli Haapalainen, Henri Halkola, Elina Korhonen, Pentti Korhonen
Adaptation from Tolstoy’s novel: Helen Edmudson

Premiere November 15th 2025

Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, one of the great treasures of world literature, was brought to Oulu Theatre’s main stage in fall 2025. The production was based on Edmundson’s adaptation, which does not merely reproduce the events of the novel but offers an autonomous theatrical interpretation. Alongside Anna Karenina, the adaptation elevates Konstantin Levin and his love story to the role of a central protagonist. The dramatisation propels events onto the stage in a whirlwind-like flow, relying on strong visual composition and physical expression in addition to character-driven drama. Anna Karenina is a powerful play about the significance of life choices, socio-moral expectations, and passion. The work asks how this possibly singular life we are given should be lived.

As this is a 19th-century classic, I wanted to combine something old with something new. I decided to experiment with a method that was new to me: sampling existing music and combining it with electronic instruments. I limited the sampled material to Russian classical composers, ultimately using excerpts from Glinka, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky. For example, the music I composed for the ballroom scene features samples from four different composers (three of which one audience member recognised in the premiere!).
I initially assumed that sampling would be a faster way of producing material, but in reality, finding suitable samples took a considerable amount of time. Fortunately pianist Ilona Liiman was able to assist me in this process. Since the production is stylistically period-based, I was initially concerned about how electronic instruments would integrate into the overall aesthetic. I found that there was precisely room for a few synthesisers and a drum machine, which brought the work intriguingly closer to the present day.