This year, the end of June marks the European Council Presidency handover from Romania to Finland, an excellent pretext for us to join forces with our friends at the Romanian Embassy in London for two events organised at both our venues. From theatre to music, this is – we hope – but the first in a series of Romanian-Finnish collaborations and we invite you all to join in the celebration.

The programme kicks off at the Finnish Institute on 25.6. with a rehearsed reading of “Suicidal Dog and Laika”, a play by Romanian author Cătălina Florescu, and continues on 30.6. with a recital by Finnish pianist Julia Wallin, held at the welcoming premises of The Romanian Embassy at 1 Belgrave Square. 

When: Tuesday 25 June 2019, 7pm
Where: Finnish Cultural Institute, 3 York Way, London N1C 4AE
Free entry.
Please book your tickets on:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rehearsed-reading-of-suicidal-dog-and-laika-tickets-63377282157

Cătălina Florescu is a Romanian writer based in New York, part of the new generation of Romanian writers whose view is rather outwardly, global and in tune with the cultural movement of their time. According to the author, ‘Suicidal Dog and Laika’ is “a play about how history needs to be told from the perspective of the one whose voice is either silenced or marginalised. In this case, on the one hand, Laika’s voice, the first (female) creature to be sent and die in space ‘in the name of science’ and, on the other hand, Dog’s, an immigrant from the Middle East who thought starting a new life in the ‘New World’ would be the adventure of his lifetime.” ‘Suicidal Dog and Laika’ is a surrealist play meant to act as a lyrical parable exploring the ideas of home, otherness and uprooting in the 21st century. 

“It is so rewarding to find a play that speaks to you on a personal level and yet carry the universal messages for any director. I have directed this important political tragicomedy that was written by Cătălina Florescu after our last election as a commentary on the absurdity of the reality we get used to, accept and adapt in our everyday lives in exchange for comfort, struggle to stay human in a world still divided by status quo, citizenship, and borders.” – Olga Levina, Artistic Director, Jersey City Theater Center

When: Sunday 30 June 2019, 7pm
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X8PH 
Free entry.
Please book your tickets on:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/piano-recital-by-julia-wallin-tickets-63378441625

London-based Finnish pianist Julia Wallin is a constant presence on the stages of Europe, Scandinavia, United States of America and Great Britain. She has received many awards in international competitions and has had many collaborations with orchestras and artists, performing a concert even for Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge, at Kensington Palace in 2017. In Belgravia, the pianist will present a vibrant programme of works by Romania and Finland’s most renowned composers.