Finnish National Youth Theatre
if you ask us
I do what I want
I wear what I want
and you won’t sleep in my grave
if you ask us is not based on a play or ready-made script. All the material has been created in the rehearsal room through different practices of improvisation and task-based scores. Then, the material has been edited and developed together with the actors. We use processes of theatre making so that we can understand and influence how we are represented.
This group began working in January 2026. Together we have been learning to listen – to each other and to the world, listening to words and listening to movement.
Our stage finds its frame from questions of language, truth, tradition and modernity. Seeking understanding is a constant process of back-and-forth movement.
On the stage, a word can become a missile, or it can become a bird.
The performance is in Finnish, English, Somali, Bengali, Arabic, Turkish and Dari. Subtitles are available in English and Finnish.
Premiere at the Small Stage 14th of October 2026.
The National Youth Theatre is a group of young theatre makers who challenge our understanding of who is allowed to make theatre and who it is for. The group includes performers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Finland, Kurdistan, Somalia and Syria, who work together with experienced artists. The script is based on material produced by the young people.
The production is part of the Lähettiläät | Ambassadors project, which also includes workshops in communities of young people with immigrant backgrounds.
Production Team
Cast Ridwan Ahmed, Asma Akbari, Zahra Akbari, Maria Akter, Sabrina Ali, Adnan Almousa , Maryam Barbery, Juho Hagan, Iiris Linna, Tilma Lucenius, Yusra Mohali, Iftah Mohamed, Arvand Rasul, Ada Safdari and Kaneli Samola
Concept and direction Tamara Searle Concept and performers Members of the National Youth Theatre Concept and dramaturgy Ville Vuorikoski Videography and Sound design Olli Valkola Lighting Design Miika Suomalainen Producer Roosa Vaverka
