Letting Go

THE FINNISH NATIONAL THEATRE

Written by Heini Junkkaala, based on the writings, interviews and improvisations of Nelly Juulia Kärkkäinen and Gitta Oksanen
Directed by Heini Junkkaala; dramaturge Elina Snicker

How to mourn something that never was?

Letting Go deals with unwanted childlessness. What happens when you have to give up wishing for something? Could there be some sort of ritual for these goodbyes?

This is a piece about abandoning a dream and feeling sad about an unfulfilled wish, but it’s also a celebration of everything that came true: living on a windy island, a golden retriever who loves boating, and a very direct mother-daughter relationship.

Written and directed for the National Theatre by Heini Junkkaala, this third installment in a documentary stage trilogy is based on actor Nelly Juulia Kärkkäinen’s personal experiences of wanting to have a child, getting treatment for infertility and giving up hope. The play also marks the stage debut of Kärkkäinen’s mother Gitta Oksanen.

”Director Heini Junkkaala’s latest work breaks your heart, but then reassembles it.”
Eeli Vilhunen, Demokraatti newspaper (text in Finnish)