Faravid’s Land

The performance Faravid’s Land, which weaves together theatre, contemporary circus and contemporary dance, is set in Oulu’s legendary Raksila market area, which at its heyday even surpassed Helsinki’s Stockmann in grocery sales. Now the Eka-market building has reached the end of its useful life and is due to be demolished. In its place, the long-awaited new source of happiness and pride will rise in the future: an experiential arena, a centre promising bliss and vitality for all of northern Finland. So does the source of Oulu’s happiness lie hidden in Raksila? Is this where it was buried? Faravid’s Land is a journey from the remains of the market to ancient Northern Ostrobothnia, and a myth about seekers and keepers of happiness. What is happiness, really? In this dreamlike experience, possible guides include Akka-Queen, mistress of old and new spells; Kärppä, the local power animal; or Kaamos itself. The work’s mythological fiction and its captivating creatures are joined with a market building that has seen better days, echoing with the histories of Sale, Alko and flea-market operations. Faravid’s Land invites audiences not only to be amazed by the skills of 14 actors, dancers and circus artists, but also to cast spells for happiness, drive away misfortune, bid farewell to Raksila market and welcome the eccentric experiential arena that comes before the experiential arena. Eternal questions and mythical landscapes unfold throughout the emptied building in this immersive performance, where audiences are free to choose their own path towards fulfilment—a pursuit undertaken cunningly, conjured powerfully and met with quiet shame. A myth is a story or belief that explains things for which there is no firsthand knowledge or whose truth cannot be proven. Happiness is a wondrous thing, and according to statistics there is a great deal of it in the City of Oulu. Faravid’s Land is written by Eira Virekoski and directed by Alma Lehmuskallio and Pirjo Yli-Maunula. The production is a co-production by Oulun teatteri and Flow Productions, in collaboration with Oulu2026 and still still (NED).