Breaking Multilingual Silence in the Nordic Performing Arts
Coordinated by David Kozma and Vanja Hamidi Isacson. produced by Post Theatre Collective (Helsinki) in collaboration with Inter Arts Center (Malmö), and supported by Nordic Culture Point.
Breaking Multilingual Silence in the Nordic Performing Arts aims at creating a multilingual, multidisciplinary body of works that explore identity, language, and belonging. Through a one-year collaborative artistic research project Post Theatre Collective examines silence through multilingualism. The project seeks to empower linguistic diversity within the Nordic performing arts and society at large, investigating silence as both a tool of oppression and resistance.
The project includes five artistic outcomes:
a multilingual performance titled SILENCE
a seminar
a workshop
a podcast, and
an article reflecting Nordic linguistic diversity.
SILENCE – A Multilingual Performance
Premiere: 10 September 2025
What happens when the waiting room speaks more languages than the stage?
SILENCE is a multilingual performance set in an audition waiting room — a place where languages meet, clash, and question their place on stage. Developed by director David Kozma and playwright Vanja Hamidi Isacson with an international ensemble, the piece draws on the artists’ own linguistic and cultural experiences.
In the fictional audition, actors prepare to perform in a multilingual musical loosely inspired by the silent and invisible characters of Tove Jansson’s Trollvinter. As they wait for their turn, they begin to wonder: are they truly invited to speak in their own voices, or simply cast to “perform diversity”?
The performance reflects on the politics of language, identity, and representation in Nordic theatre. It questions the “one nation, one language” ideal, confronts the quiet erasure of minority and migrant languages, and positions multilingualism as both an artistic expression and a form of resistance.
SILENCE also explores exclusion in theatre caused by linguistic requirements and investigates questions such as:
What kinds of roles are immigrant actors invited to play?
How can multilingual performances be created without exoticising actors or their languages?
Working group
Director: David Kozma
Text: Vanja Hamidi Isacson, David Kozma & the working group
On stage: Ágnes Kaszás, Wanjiku Victoria Seest, Yuko Takeda, Medo Ismail
On video: Vanja Hamidi Isacson, David Kozma, Luthando Jamda, Fabian Silén
Choreography: Gesa Piper
Visual design: Pietu Pietiäinen
Sound design: Saku Kämäräinen
Tech: Iria Arenas, Mihut Naita | Production: Haiyun Yu | Communication: Zhang Rong-Ci
Seminar: Breaking Multilingual Silence in the Nordic Performing Arts
Date: 5 December 2025
Location: Inter Arts Center, Malmö (Sweden)
Leaders: Dr. Vanja Hamidi Isacson (SE) & Director David Kozma (FI)
The seminar explores strategies for increasing the visibility of diverse languages on Nordic stages. Across the region, multilingualism is part of everyday life, yet it remains underrepresented in the performing arts.
The event brings together researchers, artists, and practitioners to exchange ideas and build networks around multilingual theatre practice.
Keynote speakers:
Dr. Kasia Lech, Associate Professor of Global Performance History, University of Amsterdam
Prof. Carla Jonsson, Professor in Educational Work, Umeå University
Podcast: Giving Voice to Multilingual Artists
Launch: Early 2026
Hosts: David Kozma & Vanja Hamidi Isacson
The project’s podcast features 6–8 episodes that give voice to multilingual theatre professionals from across the Nordic region. Each episode highlights one or two artists sharing their experiences of working in multiple languages and navigating identity through performance.
Episodes will be released on YouTube and SoundCloud.
Workshop: Breaking Multilingual Silence in the Nordic Performing Arts
Dates: 6–10 December 2025
Location: Inter Arts Center, Malmö
Leaders: David Kozma & Vanja Hamidi Isacson
This five-day workshop invites professional actors and multilingual individuals from across the Nordic countries to explore how language, identity, and the body intersect in performance.
Participants work through three key stages:
Visible – Drawing and sharing personal language portraits to map each participant’s linguistic repertoire.
Activated – Using movement and speech improvisations to embody languages and emotions, expanding the actor’s expressive range.
Heard – Presenting the multilingual explorations publicly at the end of the workshop.
The method transforms linguistic diversity from a barrier into a source of artistic strength and emotional richness.
Research Article: Breaking Multilingual Silence in the Nordic Performing Arts
Author: Dr. Vanja Hamidi Isacson
Publication: December 2026
The project’s artistic research outcomes will be presented in a scholarly article published in a Nordic performing arts journal such as A&R – Nordic Journal of Art & Research or Nordic Theatre Studies.
The article will contribute to the growing field of artistic research on multilingual performance, aiming to reach both scholars and practitioners across the region.
