Käräjät to open Tampereen Työväen Teatteri's 125th season

Käräjät will premiere on Thursday 29 October 2026 at 18:30 on the Main Stage of Tampereen Työväen Teatteri.

The staging is part of the company's 125th season; the announcement earlier this year described Käräjät as a world premiere the theatre's 125th‑season announcement.

Set in the South Ostrobothnian countryside in 1938, Käräjät follows Aunt Vilja. Haunted by a traumatic youth, she has become dependent on her teacher brother’s household. A mistake in her old age triggers a criminal investigation that leads to more than fifty villagers being accused of illegal pregnancy terminations. A provincial detective from Vaasa and a young woman named Inkeri become entangled in the inquiries.

Artistic director Hanna Suutela said the choice continues the theatre's social mission, recalling that Tampereen Työväen Teatteri opened in 1901 with Minna Canth's Anna Liisa as a statement on community pressure and women's vulnerability. She added that the line given to Inkeri in Käräjät, "You don't have to be ashamed, Inkeri," is the main reason the company is presenting the work on its jubilee night.

Sirkku Peltola, who adapted Markus Nummen’s novel for the stage, said she is grateful to her collaborators but also angry at the social structures that enable the tragedy, arguing the same abuses have recurred across decades and persist today. The production's program includes contact details for helplines serving women and girls.

The creative team includes composer Petra Poutanen, choreographer Petri Kauppinen, set and costume designer Pirjo Liiri‑Majava, lighting designer Eero Auvinen and sound designer Kyösti Kallio. The ensemble features Sari Mällinen, Anne‑Mari Alaspää, Verneri Lilja, Mika Honkanen and Emmi Kaislakari, among others. The staging mixes tragic and comic elements to examine shame, law and community pressure.