Note: No longer in repertoire!

What would you do if you knew that the earth would end in 16 years? Exactly the same as today? The Paradise Doctrine is Finland’s answer to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy , where George Orwell meets a disastrous sitcom in a breakneck macabre comedy. The Paradise Doctrine plays with what we know we want to get out of life, what we think we know we want and what we don’t know we should get out of life.

After the success of The Comedy of Felix’s Life by Fabian Silén (nominated for the Antonia Prize in 2015), Teater Mestola, in collaboration with 4th Teatern från Västerås, presents the unbridled macabre comedy Paradise Doctrine. Directed by the well-known performing arts duo Joséphine Wistedt and Fredrik Lundqvist from Sweden.

“Startlingly good theatre!” Otto Ekman, Hufvudstadsbladet.

” An exceptionally entertaining play” Wilhelmina Öhman, Nytid.

“Silén is a chapter of its own by Finland-Swedish playwrights” Christel Pettersson, Svenska Yle.

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The world is heading for its destruction and on the last remaining patch of mainland, the size of an average inner-city two-room apartment, sits a cyborg, model Y-10, named Eva, together with his spouse, the cyborg Adam, wishing that something, anything, will end their misery. “Oh God, help us,” Eva mutters to herself. Thousands of light years away, God the Father himself sits forgotten and unhappy, and bulls trapped in a black hole, together with none other than the father of evolution, Charles Darwin. But he will not stay there for long, he cannot leave humanity in the lurch. This time it will go well, no one will be nailed to anything!

Who can fix everything, if not God the Father! Time to call in “The backup” in the form of the cocker spaniel Pelle, the author Karl Ove Knausgård, the economist Milton Friedman and of course Eva and Adam’s unborn son David.

Text: Fabian Silén
Director: Fredrik Lundqvist/Josephine Wistedt
Cast: Martin Bahne, Lidia Bäck and Iida Kuningas.
Visual design/Set design: Paola Guzman Figueroa
Sound design: Theo af Enehielm
Lighting design: Atte Pukero (Theatre Viirus)
Costume: Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila
Production: Teater Mestola/Misan Nykvist.

The world premiere was on 29.4 2017 at Teater Viirus.

www.mestola.com

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The performing arts duo Fredrik Lundqvist and Joséphine Wistedt, who are responsible for directing, have just under ten joint productions behind them. Fredrik is the theatre manager and artistic director at the 4th theatre in Västerås and Joséphine is a member of the independent group Unga Tur in Stockholm and has worked at e.g. Riksteatern, Teater Barbara, and the 4th Theatre.

Martin Bahne (Adam, Milton Friedman et al.)
Martin works as an actor at Teater Viirus. Prior to that, he has worked at Svenska Teatern, Wasa Teater, Vaasan Kaupunginteatteri and in a number of independent groups such as Projektori-ryhmä and Teater Mestola, which he also co-founded. He is known from films and TV series such as Gränsen 2018, Tom of Finland and TV series such as Ratamo and Syke.

Iida Kuningas (Eva)
Iida, winner of the 2017 Vivica Bandler Prize, is an actor at Teater Viirus. In recent years, she has also played major roles on the country’s leading stages, including as the lead actress in Milja Sarkola’s hit plays Something Else at Q-Teatteri and I taket lyser stjärnna at Lilla Teatern. She also participated in the award-winning and critically acclaimed performance WunderKinder by Teater 90°.

Lidia Bäck (Gud, Knausgård et al.)
Lidia is active as an actor, director, jazz singer and burlesque artist. Bäck has worked in both institutional theatres and independent groups, and is currently working on the productions of 35 Me and Some Actors (Blaue Frau), The Strapped Girl (NSU), The Paradise Doctrine (Theatre Mestola) and as a director of the musical West Side Story (Novia University of Applied Sciences/Pietarsaari and Centria University of Applied Sciences/Kokkola).

Fabian Silén
Fabian is a playwright, director and actor. He has written the plays The Comedy of Felix’s Life (Antonia nominated in 2015) and praised the Paradise Doctrine. As an actor, he last appeared in the play Marat/Sade, directed by Juha Hurme, and also participates in Lilla Teatern’s upcoming farce A Little Calm in the House by Florian Zeller. He is the artistic director of the independent group Teater Mestola ”