Nokia

TURKU CITY THEATRE

Written by Sami Keski-Vähälä
Directed by Mikko Kouki

The story of the company that revolutionized Finland, conquered nearly all, and lost almost everything.

Nokia is a history play about a corporation that single-handedly and unexpectedly turned an obscure, recession-stricken Nordic country into an exemplary modern welfare state. It also highlights the people behind the success, who didn’t always realize they were making history.

The story of Nokia Corporation is as good a fit for a stage production as any modern-day national narrative can be. It shows what it’s like to be a Finn at moments of triumph and loss, it’s highly entertaining, and it gives you a lot to think about. Mixing actual events with Kalevala-like mythos, the play sees the similarities between Nokia’s success and the national epic’s miracle-machine Sampo and the character Lemminkäinen, a small-village youth who crashes a big-village party.

”Taneli Mäkelä’s impressive turn as Jorma Ollila is Finnish theatre history in the making.”
Jouko Grönholm, Teatteri & Tanssi + Sirkus magazine (text in Finnish)