Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe

Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe (Kristan Smeds 2006) is a raw and powerful love story based on Dostoevsky‘s classic novel Crime and Punishment. The point of view of the poetic play is Raskolnikov’s beloved Sonya, who finds herself driven to prostitution. Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe is a touching vision of Europe – a continent where luck and fortune are greatly divided, and where young men undertake extreme and desperate actions where “the poor are robbed of even the shit from their pants”. Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe looks deep into the human soul with a Dostoevskian merciful gaze. It shows us that beauty, light, and miracles flicker even at the darkest of times – that love can still trickle through.

Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe is an award-winning theatre performance that has so far been seen at 10 international theatre festivals, in 11 countries and in 19 cities. Premiere March 7th 2013.

In Finnish with English and Estonian subtitles

Duration 1h 20min

The Sadsongscomplex: fi theatre company is a Finnish group that has shot to fame at international theatre festivals in the last couple of years.

Its production Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe has participated in the Brest international festival “Belaya Vezha in Belarus, the Yerevan international festival Highfest in Armenia and the Maribor theatre festival in Slovenia. It has also been staged in Russia and joined in celebrating the 85th anniversary of the National Theatre of Karelia in Petroskoi. It was also staged as part of the ‘Finland 100’” centenary.

“Sad Songs from the Heart of Europe” is in the FREEDOM FESTIVAL 2018 program