The workplace comedy Status quo turns on power and gender roles in Jakob Höglund’s last director as artistic director / Workplace comedy Status quo turns power and gender roles on its head in Jakob Höglund’s farewell guidance
This spring’s premiere on Helsinki City Theatre’s Swedish-language stage Lilla Teatern is the workplace comedy Status Quo. The performance is Jakob Höglund’s last direction as artistic director at Lillan and will premiere on February 12. Maja Zade’s comedy turns society’s power structures upside down and depicts in a witty way how familiar roles and worlds change when a woman takes the man’s place.
The plot follows three young men, all named Micke (Alexander Wendelin), whose lives are depicted in parallel. At a job interview at a real estate agency, Micke is faced with questions that are usually directed at women, the pharmacy manager comments on his body and clothing, and at home he is met by a wife who constantly demands more sex.
The play is written by the German-Swedish playwright Maja Zade. It had its world premiere at the Schaubühne in Berlin in 2019 and quickly became a modern cult classic.
“I am very happy to end my time at Lillan by bringing Maja Zade to Finland. Zade’s comedies make us laugh. But the humour is dark. There is a pain point. Zade uses humour as a tool to awaken new insights and take us into new thought landscapes that we would not otherwise visit. We know it’s wrong, but we can’t help but laugh,” says director Jakob Höglund.
The puppets are designed by award-winning puppeteer Heini Maaranen, who, together with Jakob Höglund, forms a recurring artistic duo with several acclaimed collaborations behind them, including Veljeni Leijonamieli (2024), Katrina (2024) and Crisis and Disaster in Moominvalley (2022).
On stage we see Alexander Wendelin, Alexandra Gustafsson, Vuokko Hovatta, Peter Kanerva, Pia Runnakko and Joachim Wigelius.
The translation is by Gunilla Hemming. The director is Jakob Höglund. The set design, costume and puppet design have been created by Heini Maaranen, and the puppet theatre instructor is Riina Tikkanen. The lighting design is by Ainu Palmu and the video design by Katinka Ebbe. Tony Sikström is responsible for composition and sound design. The mask design is created by Jaana Nykänen and the dramaturg is Henna Piirto.
Read the interview with playwright Maja Zade on Lilla Teatern’s website: Maja Zade’s mirror world forces us to laugh so that we don’t cry
Status quo, premiere 12.2.2026 at Lilla Teatern, Yrjönkatu 30, Helsinki.
Tickets: normal price €43, student price €21.50 (Mon–Thu), pensioner price €40 (Mon–Thu).
#statusquo @lilla.teatern @hktfi
Performed in Swedish. The performance is subtitled in Finnish and Swedish via the Subtitle Mobile mobile application.
Helsinki City Theatre’s customer service is available by phone (09) 3940 22 Mon–Fri at noon. 10–17. Ticket office on First Line 2, Mon–Fri at noon. 12–17, Djurgårdsvägen 5, Sat (performance days) at noon. 11–18.30 and one hour before the performances begin.
Lippu.fi, Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun at noon. 12–16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge/mta) www.hkt.fi
Pictured in the press release: Alexander Wendelin. Photo: Otto-Ville Väätäinen
Further information, press tickets and interview requests:
Lilla Teatern, Communications Planner Ida Virkkunen, ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250.
Press release 22.1.2026
Workplace comedy Status quo turns power and gender roles upside down in Jakob Höglund’s farewell direction
The spring premiere on the stage of the Swedish-language Lilla Teatern of the Helsinki City Theatre is the workplace comedy Status Quo. Jakob Höglund’s last film as Lillan’s Artistic Director will premiere on 12 February. Written by Maja Zade, the comedy turns the power structures of society upside down and cleverly depicts how familiar roles and worlds change when a woman is replaced by a man.
The story follows three young men named Micke (Alexander Wendelin) side by side. In a job interview at a real estate agency, Micke is asked questions that are usually asked of women, at the pharmacy the supervisor comments on his body and clothing, and at home he has a wife waiting for him, who constantly demands more sex from him.
The status quo was written by the German-Swedish playwright Maja Zade. The play, which premiered in Schaubühne in Berlin in 2019, quickly became a modern cult classic.
“I am extremely happy that I can end my Lilla season by bringing Maja Zade to Finland. Zade’s comedies make us laugh. But their humor is black, a little painful. Zade uses humor as a tool to spark new insights and directs our thoughts to something they wouldn’t otherwise go. We know it’s wrong to laugh, but we can’t help but laugh,” says director Jakob Höglund.
The puppets were designed by award-winning puppeteer Heini Maaranen, who has also worked with Höglund in several previous successful productions, such as My Brother the Lion’s Heart (2024), Katrina (2024) and Kris och katastrof i Moominalen (2022).
Alexander Wendelin, Alexandra Gustafsson, Vuokko Hovatta, Peter Kanerva, Pia Runnakko and Joachim Wigelius will be seen on stage.
The play has been translated by Gunilla Hemming. The director is Jakob Höglund. The set, costume and puppet design is by Heini Maaranen, and the puppet theatre director is Riina Tikkanen. The lighting design was done by Ainu Palmu and the video design by Katinka Ebbe. The composition and sound design are by Tony Sikström. The make-up design has been done by Jaana Nykänen and the dramaturg is Henna Piirto.
Read the interview with playwright Maja Zade on Lilla Teatern’s website: Maja Zade’s mirror world forces us to laugh for us not to cry.
Status quo premiere 12.2.2026 at Lilla Teatern, Yrjönkatu 30, Helsinki.
Tickets: basic ticket €43, student ticket €21.50 (Mon–Thu), pensioner ticket €40 (Mon–Thu).
#statusquo @lilla.teatern @hktfi
Performed in Swedish. The performance will be subtitled in Finnish and Swedish using the Subtitle Mobile mobile application.
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 394022 Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket offices First line 2, Mon-Fri 12-17, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11-18.30 and one hour before the performance and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9-19, Sun 12-16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi
In the photo: Alexander Wendelin. Photo: Otto-Ville Väätäinen
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Lilla Teatern, Communications Planner Ida Virkkunen, ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250.