On September 5, Helsinki will become a meeting place for Ukrainian and Finnish theatre, bringing new dramatic voices from Ukraine to the stage of the Finnish National Theatre.
“I Want to Live, Breathe, Dance, Love – New Texts from Ukraine” is a staged reading of new documentary drama texts written by young Ukrainian war veterans. The event seeks to bring attention to Ukrainian voices and perspectives that have often remained outside the international conversation and news coverage about the war.
The programme will take place at Lavaklubi of the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki on September 5 at 3:00 PM. The event is free of charge.
At the centre of the programme is contemporary Ukrainian veteran drama — writing that emerges directly from the experience of war and from people who have lived through it. Rather than speaking about the war from a distance, these texts offer personal perspectives on what it means to experience, survive and continue living through it.
Among the key participants is Ukrainian playwright, journalist, human rights activist and veteran Alina Sarnatska. Her participation connects the theatrical readings with a broader conversation about the place of art during wartime.
Sarnatska will speak about what it means to work as an artist in the middle of a war, the roles theatre has taken on since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the psychological reality of life in Ukraine today. She will be interviewed by Finnish journalist Maria Säkö.
For Sarnatska, the Helsinki event is also part of an international journey for Ukrainian contemporary drama. Her play Balance has already been presented through staged readings abroad, including in Washington in 2026. Her work explores war, human rights, the body, violence and social marginalisation, bringing personal experience into the theatrical space.
The Helsinki reading is a collaboration between the Finnish National Theatre and Ryhmäteatteri. Writer Elli Salo has compiled and translated the texts, and theatre director Riikka Oksanen directs the staged reading.
The Finnish cast includes Inke Koskinen, Aksa Korttila, Wenla Reimaluoto, Otto Rokka, Robin Svartström, Rasmus Slätis and Miiko Toiviainen.
The event is organised in cooperation with AR Safe Haven Helsinki, Artists at Risk, Creative Europe, the City of Helsinki, the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency, Teatr Veteraniv and the Embassy of Ukraine.
Theatre as a way of listening
The significance of the event lies not only in presenting new Ukrainian plays in Finland. It creates a space where Ukrainian veterans can be heard through theatre — not simply as soldiers or witnesses of war, but as writers and artists shaping their own narratives.
Theatre becomes a way of asking questions that news reports cannot always answer: What happens to a person after experiencing war? How does war change the way we understand the body, relationships, society and the future? And what can art say when ordinary language is no longer enough?
On September 5, Helsinki will offer an opportunity to listen to these voices directly — through the words of Ukrainian veteran playwrights and through a conversation with Alina Sarnatska about Ukrainian theatre today.