M: Hi Emelie!
E: Hi Martin! What do you think about our new job?
M: Well! I feel like I’ve had time to go through a lot of thoughts, it’s been almost a year since we applied for the position. A lot of my thoughts have centred on what kind of festival we have come to. We’re a completely new generation, our memories of the festival are from Tom and Jonas’ time and we lack references for what it was like, say, 15 or 20 years ago. So coming as a newcomer to a festival that has a history older than you are and that has played a central role not only in the Finland Swedish theatre field, but also on a personal level for individual people, can be quite daunting. It’s no small legacy we are managing, so to speak. So a lot of my thoughts have centred on how we carry on the festival. What do we preserve? What do we develop? What do we want to change? And I think it’s only really now, during the autumn, that I’ve become more comfortable and started to think more about what it is we, you and I, actually want to achieve with the festival. For me, the biggest question right now is what kind of artistic achievement a theatre festival really is. After all, we are the artistic directors of the festival, and for me that opens up a question about what kind of event the festival context itself is. There’s something in the idea of “curating” a festival, which is different from just “shopping” for performances. That term, curating, has traditionally had more of a foothold in the visual arts and means something beyond producing an exhibition, or in this case a festival. Why do we choose to present these particular performances? And why in this particular order and in these particular places? I see our work as largely about facilitating an artistic experience that spans multiple works, places and times.
E: Ahead of the 2025 festival, I think we should do a survey of what Hangö Teaterträff is right now: Who’s on the stage and in the audience? What does the audience expect? What kind of dramaturgy did the festival use to have and how do we want to change it? Throughout this autumn I’ve noticed that Hangö Teaterträff awakens a lot of emotions in people, there are opinions about what the festival should be and who it should take into account. We have a big job ahead of us in trying to remain open and take into account as many target groups as possible – but at the same time I don’t want the festival to become too generalised. I look forward to tying together the works we have planned for the festival and starting to build a dramaturgy based on the experience of seeing several works in succession. What will the audience take with them into the next performance? What will they take with them to the evening club? What discussions will arise? At the moment, I’m inspired to curate according to and think about a theme or issue for each year’s festival, and in 2025 it really is: Who are we who are here at the festival and why?
Speaking of heritage, I keep coming back to the Finland Swedish. I’m not sure if it’s interesting to me – I mean, of course, Hangö Teaterträff is the biggest festival in the Finland Swedish performing arts field, but I think if we get too caught up in the language issue or the Finland Swedish identity issue, we’ll diminish ourselves and the festival and miss out on something valuable. I want Hangö Teaterträff to be a folk festival where everyone is welcome, the festival is seen and felt in Hanko and is more than a gathering point for the field.
M: Precisely! While the festival has a background in being a kind of gathering place for the field, that’s no longer where we are now. And maybe that’s what I mean by us completely lacking references for what the festival once was. I remember Hangö Teaterträff as an international, experimental and innovative place and it’s from that base that I want to build the festival further. Over time, the festival has become its own, autonomous, artistic player in the theatre field. We’re no longer a showcase or a shop window for what the field has to offer, that’s no longer possible. Instead, we must look at what the festival is in itself. What kind of art does it produce? What kind of experiences and thoughts does it create?
E: Fuck but I love festivals <3
M: <3
What you said about what the audience takes with them from performance to performance, that’s kind of what I’m after with the festival. What happens in the spaces in between? On the dance floor, on the beach or while eating pizza down by the harbour? The unique thing about a theatre festival is that we can experience several performances next to each other. In other cases, they kind of speak for themselves. But when you bring works together in a larger, but concentrated context such as a festival, they’re suddenly in dialogue with each other. And not just with each other, but also with the audience, the visitors who move between the works.
E: What are you most looking forward to and what are you most nervous about?
M: Oooh, good question! Well, first of all, we’ve curated a programme that I’m very excited about and I’m looking forward to releasing the programme in the spring. So it’s probably the performances themselves that I’m most looking forward to. But beyond that, I’m probably very much looking forward to facilitating the festival centre itself. The programme, the space and the club nights that tie the festival experience together. I’m probably most nervous about the actual realisation of the festival, it’s a complex thing that you and I don’t have much experience with. But luckily we have a great team that I trust 100%! What about you?
E: I’m really looking forward to releasing the programme because we have wonderful artists planned and I would say that all the works relate in some way to our question of what and for whom the festival is. I hope the programme can give different answers to that question. I’m also excited for the festival week’s hectic schedule and at the same time nervous because we’re new, but I’m so happy to work with an awesome team. I’m also nervous about money, we’ve now planned a certain version of the festival and I’m afraid that we’ll have to make difficult choices and reconsider, if the financiers don’t grant us the support we’re looking for. I’m also nervous about the cuts and what they’ll do to the festival and the whole field.
Do you want to say anything about the 2025 programme?
M: Yes! I hope, and believe, that people will find the 2025 programme exciting! We’ve tried to put together a programme that is subversive, at times upsetting and thought-provoking, but at the same time allows for laughter and joy and a sense of community. As you already mentioned, we’ve tried to facilitate the programme around a question of what this festival is. Who are we that move around the festival and what does it generate as a context? I don’t know if the programme necessarily answers those questions, but I think it can make those questions relevant and tangible in a rather exciting way.
What’s your dream for the festival?
E: I already mentioned the folk festival haha, that the festival would be visible in the city and that both locals and everyone who comes to Hanko for the festival would really get the feeling of “there’s stuff happening here”. My dream is also that through the curated works and the various projects the festival launches, we can stay current and open and support the independent performing arts field in particular, as well as provide space for art and voices that do not necessarily currently have a place elsewhere. As a festival, we have a unique position where we can present works from completely different worlds (both geographically and in terms of content) and my dream is that all works are still in dialogue with each other. To create a common thread between, say, a big expressive theatre performance and a small one-on-one installation. And of course the community, my dream is that all visitors and participants will find something that appeals to them, makes them feel and think together. I hope we can offer spaces that feel brave, safe and vulnerable. I think that’s where the strength of a theatre festival like Hangö Teaterträff lies.
M: Exactly! And I actually believe that Hangö Teaterträff will always have that strength.
E: Yep! Let’s go!