A sense of security crumbles in a Töölö housing company – De obehöriga premieres at Lilla Teatern
Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn season at Lilla Teatern opens with Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist’s contemporary satire De obehöriga. With warm humour, the play explores topical themes such as insecurity and fear of the unknown. The production marks David Sandqvist’s directorial debut as Artistic Director of Lilla Teatern and features Sampo Sarkola, who has rarely appeared on stage since 2016.
The action takes place in a housing company by Töölöntori, where neighbours have gathered to discuss unauthorised people moving around the building. The conversation quickly strays from the matter at hand as rumours and memories become accepted as fact and a sense of threat takes over the room.
“The heart of the play lies in its title: the fear of others. Through black humour, it portrays a society gripped by anxiety, where the need for security descends into paranoia. The result is both hysterically funny and chillingly relevant,” says director David Sandqvist.
Sandqvist took up his post as Artistic Director of Lilla Teatern in August. A sought-after director, his recent productions include This is NOT Stalker (Sirius Teatern) and Flamingonpunainen unelma (Teatteri Jurkka). This autumn, he will also direct Pelle Svanslös at Svenska Teatern.
Sampo Sarkola, who left the theatre stage in 2016, plays Bosse, a resident of Töölö. It was Sandqvist’s production of Skymning 41 at Lilla Teatern last year that rekindled Sarkola’s desire to act on stage.
“I liked David’s direction, the adaptation and the set design. So I told him to get in touch if he ever needed a middle-aged man who no longer wanted to do somersaults on stage. And he did, sooner than expected,” says Sarkola.
John Ajvide Lindqvist is an award-winning Swedish author whose work has been translated into more than 30 languages. His novels have been adapted for film, and his plays have been performed around the world. In 2014, Lilla Teatern staged his play Ett informellt samtal om den nuvarande situationen.
De obehöriga was inspired by real interviews with people living around Mariatorget in Stockholm.
The cast features Aksinja Lommi, Mawlawi Rahem, Pia Runnakko, Sampo Sarkola and Joachim Wigelius.
Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist and directed by David Sandqvist. Set and costume design by K Rasila. Lighting design by Ville Aaltonen and sound design by Niklas Lundström. Make-up design by Jutta Kainulainen, with Henna Piirto as dramaturg.
Read the interview with director David Sandqvist on Lilla Teatern’s website: https://lillateatern.fi/david-sandqvist-satir-sokrates-och-spurs/
De obehöriga, Finnish premiere on 5.9.2026 at Lilla Teatern, Yrjönkatu 30, Helsinki.
Tickets: standard price 43 €, student price 21,50 € (Mon–Thu), pensioner price 40 € (Mon–Thu).
#deobehoriga @lilla.teatern @hktfi
Performance language: Swedish. The performance is surtitled in Finnish and Swedish via the Subtitle Mobile app.
Helsinki City Theatre’s customer service is available by phone at (09) 3940 22 Mon–Fri from 9–17. The box office at Ensi linja 2 is open Mon–Fri from 12–17. The box offices at Eläintarhantie 5 and the other venues open one hour before the performance at the venue in question. lippu.fi, Mon–Sat from 9–19, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min+lna/mta) www.hkt.fi
Press images are available in the media bank and press releases in the newsroom.
Pictured in the press release image: Sampo Sarkola, Mawlawi Rahem, Joachim Wigelius, Aksinja Lommi and Pia Runnakko. Photo: Otto-Ville Väätäinen, image editing: Kim Sinisalo.
Further information, press tickets and interview requests:
Lilla Teatern, Communications Planner Ida Virkkunen, ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250.
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A sense of security crumbles in a Töölö housing company – De obehöriga premieres at Lilla Teatern
Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn season at Lilla Teatern opens with Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist’s contemporary satire De obehöriga. Using warm humour, the play explores topical themes such as insecurity and fear of the unknown. It is David Sandqvist’s first production as Artistic Director of Lilla Teatern and features Sampo Sarkola, who has rarely appeared on the theatre stage since 2016.
The action takes place in a housing company by Töölöntori, where the residents have gathered to discuss unauthorised people moving around the building. The conversation quickly goes off track as rumours and memories become accepted as fact and a sense of threat takes over.
“The play’s central idea is encapsulated in its title: the fear of the unknown and of those we perceive as outsiders. Through black humour, it portrays a society coloured by anxiety, where the desire for security turns into paranoia. The result is both hysterically funny and frighteningly relevant,” says director David Sandqvist.
Sandqvist took up his post as Artistic Director of Lilla Teatern in August. A sought-after director, his recent productions include This is NOT Stalker (Sirius Teatern) and Flamingonpunainen unelma (Teatteri Jurkka). This autumn, he will also direct Pelle Svanslös at Svenska Teatern.
Sampo Sarkola, who left the theatre stage in 2016, plays Bosse, a resident of the Töölö building. Sandqvist’s production of Skymning 41 at Lilla Teatern last year rekindled Sarkola’s interest in returning to the stage.
“I liked David’s direction as well as the adaptation and set design. I asked him to get in touch if he ever needed a middle-aged man who no longer wanted to do somersaults on stage. And he did, sooner than I expected,” says Sarkola.
John Ajvide Lindqvist is an award-winning Swedish author whose work has been translated into more than 30 languages. His novels have been adapted for film, and his plays have been performed around the world. The last Ajvide Lindqvist play staged at Lilla Teatern was Ett informellt samtal om den nuvarande situationen in 2014. De obehöriga is based on interviews with people living around Mariatorget in Stockholm.
The cast features Aksinja Lommi, Mawlawi Rahem, Pia Runnakko, Sampo Sarkola and Joachim Wigelius.
Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, directed by David Sandqvist, with set and costume design by K Rasila. Lighting design by Ville Aaltonen and sound design by Niklas Lundström. Make-up design by Jutta Kainulainen , with Henna Piirto as dramaturg.
Read the interview with director David Sandqvist on Lilla Teatern’s website: https://lillateatern.fi/david-sandqvist-satir-sokrates-och-spurs/
De obehöriga premieres on 5.9.2026 at Lilla Teatern, Yrjönkatu 30, Helsinki.
Tickets: standard ticket 43 €, student ticket 21,50 € (Mon–Thu), pensioner ticket 40 € (Mon–Thu).
#deobehoriga @lilla.teatern @hktfi
Performance language: Swedish. The performance is surtitled in Finnish and Swedish via the Subtitle Mobile app.
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service are available by phone at (09) 3940 22 Mon–Fri from 10–17. The box office at Ensi linja 2 is open Mon–Fri from 12–17. The box offices at Eläintarhantie 5 and the other venues open one hour before the performance at the venue in question. Tickets are also available from lippu.fi, Mon–Sat from 9–19, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min+pvm) www.hkt.fi
Press images are available in the media bank and press releases in the newsroom.
Pictured in the press release image: Sampo Sarkola, Mawlawi Rahem, Joachim Wigelius, Aksinja Lommi and Pia Runnakko. Photo: Otto-Ville Väätäinen, image editing: Kim Sinisalo.
Further information, press ticket reservations and interview requests:
Lilla Teatern, Communications Planner Ida Virkkunen, ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250.