STORYTELLER by Onerva Helne #TinyPlayChallenge

Keep your creativity flowing with Fishamble's #TinyPlayChallenge
In these challenging times, Fishamble - along with many of our colleagues in the wider Irish artistic community - is working hard to keep imaginations lively, communities engaged - and most of all offer people the opportunity of creative expression. We asked our audiences: Would you welcome the challenge of exploring your thoughts and feelings through drama? Do you have a dramatic story that you feel the urge to work out for yourself, and maybe share with your fellow citizens?
​Below is one of the chosen plays from our global submissions.



Talvi:   Sleep tight, peanut.

Valo:   Tell it again.

Talvi:   Again? Trouble resting, love? (Pause) Alright then… Once upon a time, many, many years ago, when nana was young /

Valo:   How many many years ago?

Talvi:   Almost ten times your years.

Valo:   (shows fingers) I’m this many years!

Talvi:   Ten times your age ago, nana lived in a distant land, on an island far away from here. Nana worked in a little café, in a place where everyone could come and buy tea and coffee shipped from sunny, even more distant lands across the ocean /

Valo:   Because when nana was young, food was different and came from far away.

Talvi:   One day, when nana was in work, a very special guest walked in and ordered /

Valo:   Ginger tea!

Nana:   And that special guest was /

Valo:   Nana!

Talvi:   You are right, that’s how I met your other nana. I thought straight away she was special, and somehow had the courage to ask her to meet again. To my surprise, she agreed. So we met again, and then again, and again. Soon we started traveling the world together, exploring places near and far, some so far it would take you over 100 days and nights to walk there without ever taking breaks!

Valo:   Because when nana was young, people got to those far away places in one day, almost any person on the island could go, any time, anywhere they wanted to go.

Talvi:   That is true, and /

Valo:   Everyone could also buy all the things they wanted from shops!

Talvi:   Yes, and then /

Valo:   But papa repairs things.

Talvi:   Sure your papa does, but back then, people had forgotten how to repair, and it was easy to buy new things.

Valo:   Everyone was rich.

Talvi:   No dear, most people weren’t rich. We weren’t rich either, but it was cheap to buy, and there was plenty of everything. We even bought shirts and dresses just to wear them once, and didn’t feel sad throwing them out.

Valo:   Nanas didn’t make clothes.

Talvi:   Nanas didn’t know how to make clothes, and back then, your other nana couldn’t even sew a button, and believe it or not, fix a bike, a wobbly chair or cook.

Valo:   Because nana was a baby.

Talvi:   No, nana wasn’t a baby anymore. It was just easier then. You could buy just anything ready-made, even meals packed in plastic ready to eat. (Pause) Anyway, your nanas got to know each other, and they loved each other very much. And because of the people on the island, there was a vote, and they voted so that nanas and others like nanas could get married. So we did. But nana missed home and didn’t want to stay on the island for longer, and your other nana decided to follow her so they could be together.

Spring:   (enters) What’s with all the chitchat in here?

Valo:   Nana says when you were young you couldn’t cook even though you were not a baby.

​Spring:   That’s what your nana says? Keep in mind your nana is a well-known storyteller. Now, nap-time is up, it’s time to get out in the garden. Gingers are sprouting, why don’t you two  historians start digging up the roots, and I’ll make us all a cuppa?

​

Onerva Helne is a theatre-maker and director currently based in Helsinki, Finland. She graduated from MA Theatre Practice in the Gaiety School of Acting / UCD in 2018. She has created original works including IKTAKOP, performed in Scene & Heard Festival in 2018, and Lähde / Headwaters performed in Helsinki in 2019. Find @onahelne on Instagram and theatre company @nollacollective on Instagram & Facebook.

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