OFF Tampere and Seminars, meetings and more complement the offering of Tampere Theatre Festival
17.6.2026
OFF TAMPERE
OFF Tampere, the official fringe program of the Tampere Theatre Festival, brings together performances and events organized by performing arts professional and amateur groups during the festival week from 3 to 9 August.
This year, a total of 39 different productions and events were registered for the program. The program includes monologues, drama, improvisational theater, summer theater and performance art. The program includes performances by the largest summer and amateur theaters in Tampere and the surrounding areas, as well as visiting ensembles from Imatra, Turku and Helsinki, among others.
The festival kicks off with OFF
The Tampere Theatre Festival OFF programme opens even before the actual festival begins. Interpretation of the beloved play Onnen maa is performed by Lempäälän nuorisoseura at Hakkari summer theatre. The story, also known as a film, takes the audience to the North Karelian countryside of the 1960s and paints a nostalgic, wistful picture of the events of one summer.
Visiting ensembles from other parts of Finland
This year, OFF programme brings performers from different parts of Finland to Tampere. From Turku comes Tehdas Teatteri’s and Alma Rajala's Pandora – Opening, a solo work combining object theatre, puppet theatre and physical theatre. The performance taking place at Pispala’s cultural venue Pethaus opens up a kaleidoscopic world of vistas for the audience.
Amateur theatre Vaientamaton from Imatra visits Kulttuuritalo Laikku with their performance Syrjäseutujen tytöt. The performance, based on Riina Tanskanen's comic books, is built from monologues and poetic elements into a woven whole about the lives of girls.
Helsinki-based youth theatre Tämän Päivän Teatteri visits Teatteri Telakka with its performance Minä olen Sanna Marin. The work examines issues of politics, media and the exercise of power, and paints a picture of our time through the life story of the former prime minister.
Check out the full program here
SEMINARS, MEETINGS AND MORE
Tampere Theatre Festival’s Seminars, meetings and more brings together interviews with artists, discussions about theatre and meetings for performing arts professionals organised in Tampere during the festival week. Most of the events are open to everyone, but some are aimed only at a specific group of performing arts professionals.
Discussions about the performances of the Main Programme and questions about theatre-making
The events open to all include a series of interviews organised in connection with the performances of the Main Programme, which help to delve deeper into the performances and the thinking of the artists. Among others, the playwrights Mehis Pihla (Business as Usual) and Elli Salo (The Day of Remembrance) will discuss working with documentary material. In addition, there is an opportunity to get to know new novel dramatisations by the Theatre Academy's playwriting students and to consider questions of inclusivity in theatre.
Meeting places for professionals
Performing arts organisations invite professionals to three events. Audience development workers, those working in art education, and members of Teme trade union meet in a collegial spirit at Teatterikesä.