La perruque in a rented apartment: rewriting Shakespeare in Finland La perruque in a rented apartment: rewriting Shakespeare in Finland

Although the history of the Finnish language and literature is some five centuries old, they only really were combined and developed in the nineteenth century. The Finnish Shakespeare tradition must be seen against this background. In this essay I propose to contextualise it in the historical background of Finnish culture and theatre. The readings of Shakespeare’s plays on the Finnish stage have in the second half of the twentieth century completed a cycle, and come near to where they started some 150 years previously. In Finland, theatre texts, as well as drama in general, are not published for general readership, and my emphasis will therefore be largely on theatre texts and their use as an element in productions. Although the history of the Finnish language and literature is some five centuries old, they only really were combined and developed in the nineteenth century. The Finnish Shakespeare tradition must be seen against this background. In this essay I propose to contextualise it in the historical background of Finnish culture and theatre. The readings of Shakespeare’s plays on the Finnish stage have in the second half of the twentieth century completed a cycle, and come near to where they started some 150 years previously. In Finland, theatre texts, as well as drama in general, are not published for general readership, and my emphasis will therefore be largely on theatre texts and their use as an element in productions.