Faravid’s Land

The performance Faravid’s Land, weaving together theatre, new circus and contemporary dance, is set in Oulu’s legendary Raksila market area, which at its height even surpassed Helsinki’s Stockmann in grocery sales. The Eka-market building has now reached the end of its useful life. It is due to be demolished, and in the future the area will be home to a long-awaited new source of joy and pride: an experience arena, a centre promising bliss and vitality for all of northern Finland. So could the source of Oulu’s good fortune be lurking in Raksila? Is this where it has been 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 fortune. What is fortune, really? In this dreamlike experience, possible guides include Akka-Queen, master of old and new spells; Kärppä, the local power animal; or Kaamos itself. The work’s mythological fiction and its fascinating creatures meet a market building that has seen better days, where echoes of the history of Sale, Alko and flea-market activity can also be heard. Faravid’s Land invites audiences not only to marvel at the skills of 14 actors, dancers and circus artists, but also to cast spells for good fortune, banish bad luck, bid farewell to Raksila market and welcome the eccentric experience arena that will precede the experience arena. Eternal questions and mythical landscapes unfold throughout the emptied building in this immersive performance, where each audience member is free to choose their own path towards fulfilment—a goal pursued cunningly, conjured powerfully and met with quiet embarrassment. A myth is a story or belief that explains things for which there is no first-hand knowledge or whose truth cannot be proven. According to statistics, there is a truly remarkable amount of good fortune 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).