Lou Salomé

Lou Salomé is a dazzling, exuberant and fast-paced play about a woman who broke boundaries and taboos. Aina Bergroth’s script and Iiris Rannio’s direction bring audiences an extraordinary and unforgettable story about the empowering energy of a positive outlook on life, self-discovery, claiming one’s own space, and a passionate approach to work and life itself. A celebrated writer, philosopher and pioneering psychoanalyst in her own time, Lou Salomé lived her whole life without regard for the role generally assigned to women. Salomé travelled around Europe and met many artists, scientists and philosophers. She was the beloved of Friedrich Nietzsche and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and a colleague who dazzled Sigmund Freud. The play is a tribute to a forgotten pioneer and her fresh thinking. In 2020, Kuopion kaupunginteatteri staged Aina Bergroth’s earlier play Tahto, about skiing legend Aino-Kaisa Saarinen. Sari Harju, who played the lead in Tahto, now takes on the role of Lou Salomé.