William Shakespeare: The Tempest

February - May, 2026

Together with a breathtakingly brilliant ensemble, Martti Suosalo, Minttu Mustakallio, Marc Gassot, Tuukka Leppänen, Marja Uusitalo, Erik Söderblom is bringing Shakespeare’s The Tempest to Teatteri Jurkka.

With Erik’s own words: a play that embraces the whole world — on a stage the size of a postage stamp. A delightful contradiction, and an experience you won’t soon forget!

From Erik Söderblom’s introduction:

“...Society, like the universe, is split between extremes. Shakespeare depicts this division without mercy. On the upper deck—the court, the elite—we find corruption, cowardice, conspiracy, and the constant readiness for violence. These are people driven by power, yet hollowed out by it. On the lower deck, among the crew, we encounter drunkenness, stupidity, and brute survival. Nobility and baseness collapse into the same grotesque image. Bastards and idiots: that is society.

Because The Tempest portrays the world, it cannot settle into a single tone or genre. Tragedy and comedy, cruelty and compassion, mockery and empathy are intertwined. What results is a chaotic mixture of drives and contradictions: desires, fears, ambitions, fantasies. In performance, this chaos also manifests stylistically. The play constantly explodes outward.At its core lies the tension between power and freedom. Power is poison—even for those who possess it. Freedom is what everyone longs for, regardless of their position. Everyone wants out. Everyone wants escape. But escape to where? Into dream? Into sleep? Into death?”

Teatteri Jurkka 2026

📷 Marko Mäkinen

"What do you get when you put director Erik Söderblom together with Martti Suosalo, Minttu Mustakallio, Marc Gassot and Tuukka Leppänen, throw in some old bedding, nightgowns, lace ribbons, a few pillows and plastic in various forms?

The exact answer will be known only to those who have tickets to the sold-out Tempest at Teatteri Jurkka—but cutting straight to the chase:

You get some seriously powerful Shakespeare."

Sanna Kangasniemi, Helsingin Sanomat ★★★★★

"If Suomen Kuvalehti’s theatre reviews used star ratings, I would hand out five stars for the first time — that is how wildly excessive this burlesque is, yet also how accomplished. Its humour is gloriously cheap in the best possible way: entertainment that revels in complete abandon."

Markus Ånäs, Suomen Kuvalehti