Purge

Purge brings to life Estonia under Stalin, just after the fall of the 3^rd Reich, when the land must be purified – no matter what the cost – of all the undesirables; and contrasts it with the same land, the same farm, just after the fall of Communism, when another purification is taking place.

In both times, the battleground is a woman’s body, and the choices that she has to make – choices so difficult she doesn’t even want to remember them.

Old Aliide Truu lives in a decrepit farmhouse in Estonia. Estonia has just become independent, and she is beginning to face the consequences of her decisions 40 years ago. Into her yard stumbles the 20-year old Zara, fleeing her abusive ‘boyfriend’. Meeting Zara brings back unwanted memories – of the choices Aliide herself made that sealed her fate, and that of her sister.

The women try to hold onto a normal life, one to be lived through all the destruction. Nothing protects them except their own wits: the men around them and the state machinery leave physical and psychological wounds. Purge asks Why? When will it stop?

Written by Sofi Oksanen
Translated by Eva Buchwald

Directed by Adrian Goldman

CAST
Aliide Truu – Anna Rawlings
Young Aliide Truu – Anastasia Oreshenkova
Zara – Satu-Lotta Pitko
Hans Pekk – Tapani Rantanen
Ingel Pekk / Natasha – Tuike Oja
Martin Truu / client – Giuliano Didio
Pavel / soldier – Alex Heino
Lavrenti / soldier – Petri Heimonen

Producer – Vladislav Nenchev
Dramaturgy – Aleksis Goldman
Stage manager – Rick Joosten
Props manager – Kyle Irani

Light & sound operator – Timo Karppinen
Camera operator – Kyle Irani

Costume design – Geneva Rosett-Hafter
Light design – Timo Karppinen
Sound design & composition – Mathias Waenerberg
Props & Set design – Laura Karppinen, Anna Rawlings, Timo Karppinen, Vladislav Nenchev, Petri Heimonen, Geneva Rosett-Hafter
Fight choreography – Satu Jin-Luo

Artwork – Ilya Orlov
Video editing -–Keni Vidilaseris
Live cinema setup – Karim Shohdy

PRESENTED BY: The Finn-Brit Players & Passport Productions

AGE LIMIT: 16+ (violence, sexual violence, implied nudity)

DURATION: ~ 2 hours 30 minutes (with a 15 minute intermission)

SCHEDULE
The doors will open 30 minutes before the start. Please arrive in good time – due to the setup of the stage, latecomers cannot be admitted.

This is an amateur production by arrangement with Nordic Drama Corner.

Image: Ilya Orlov