True-crime drama Haapajärven Elvis added to Tampere Theatre Festival main programme

Tampere Theatre Festival announced that Haapajärven Elvis will be added to the festival’s main programme and performed at the Tampereen Teatteri stage on August 4 and 5, 2026. The inclusion brings Lauri Maijala’s stage adaptation of Katariina Vuori’s book to one of Finland’s largest theatre gatherings.

The play follows young Asko, whose two protectors—his grandmother and an imagined Elvis—stand between him and a violent home life. Director Lauri Maijala adapted Vuori’s Erään tapon tarina (Like, 2018) into a true crime drama that reconstructs a notorious case from Finnish criminal history.

According to Aamulehti, the production will be staged in Tampereen Teatteri at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, and at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, as part of the festival’s main programme.

Tampere Theatre Festival runs from August 3 to 9, 2026; the festival, founded in 1968, says its main-programme selections for 2026 were made by artistic directors Hilkka-Liisa Iivanainen and Tanjalotta Räikkä together with executive director Hanna Rosendahl. Haapajärven Elvis is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4, and 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5 at Tampereen Teatteri.

The Finnish National Theatre will stage Haapajärven Elvis on November 26, 2026, with tickets due to go on sale later in May. Meanwhile a previously sold-out production has been reinstated at Lahti City Theatre for spring 2027: performances move from the Studio stage to the Small stage, with the first revival on February 17, 2027, and February–March performances released for sale on the theatre’s website today. Lahti’s final performance this season is scheduled for May 16.

According to Aamulehti, the premiere took place on February 18 at Lahti City Theatre’s Studio stage. The cast includes Jori Halttunen, Tapani Kalliomäki, Vilma Kinnunen, Anna Pitkämäki, Teemu Palosaari, Aki Raiskio, Jari-Pekka Rautiainen, Liisa Vuori and Lumikki Väinämö. Aamulehti adds that the production’s creative team features Lauri Maijala as playwright, director and set designer; Tiina Hauta-aho as costume designer; Jouni Nykopp as lighting designer; Jukka Vierimaa as sound designer; and Kati Keronen and Jenni Williamson on makeup design.

The cast also includes performances by the ensemble in a staged true-crime format designed to bring the case’s atmosphere to the audience, while focusing on the psychological tension between Asko and the forces trying to protect him.