(The Permit / The State)
A bilingual, allegorical play inspired by the Finnish immigration system.
Written for four actors.

Tillståndet (The Permit or The State) was commissioned by Svenska Teatern in 2016. The play was inspired by the stories of asylum seekers who arrived in Finland in 2015, and was developed with support from the organisation Refuhome.

The play was performed as a touring staged reading by Svenska Teatern in 2017 and 2018. Actors Cecilia Paul, Boodi Kabbani, Hanan Sneih, and Alexandr Foy performed the piece in homes in the greater Helsinki area. The reading was directed by Cecilia Paul and facilitated by Ann-Louise Gauffin.

The play tells the story of a forest in desperate need of maintenance, an over-zealous civil servant, two over-worked forest workers, and a hopeful immigrant apprentice hindered by bureaucracy. The play is an allegory about the dangers of short-sighted decisions and the inability to recognise available resources and opportunities.