The play "Winter Under the Table" in Helsingin Sanomat & Laura Kytölä
Uladzimir Ushakou’s escape from Belarus to Helsinki via Ukraine
Artists at Risk (AR) is proud to highlight the recent Helsingin Sanomat feature on AR-Alumnus Uladzimir Ushakou and the play “Talvi pöydän alla” (Winter Under the Table) which he directed at @helsinki98theatre.
Premiered on 19 November, the production resonates with local audiences thanks to its director’s artistic vision and remarkable personal story, which is described in detail in the article.
After the fraudulent elections and mass anti-government protests, he was threatened by the Belarusian KGB and forced to flee first to Ukraine, where he founded the Belarusian Theater, and later to Helsinki following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He was welcomed by Artists at Risk (AR) at AR-Safe Haven Helsinki, where he lives today.

The play Talvi pöydän alla adapts Roland Topor’s L’Hiver sous la table, an absurd comedy about an undocumented refugee living “under the table” in France.

Ushakou was drawn to its message that “[h]ope is essential in the current state of the world,” portraying an immigrant moving “from under the table to the table” and becoming part of a community.
“Many want to return home,” says Marita Muukkonen, co-founder of Artists at Risk (AR) with Ivor Stodolsky, but have no choice but to stay longer and make their place of refuge their new home.
As the journalist Laura Kytölä notes, “It raises the question of whether we [in Finland] have understood the potential of immigrant artists.” Many thanks to Helsingin Sanomat for their support and recognition!
“Talvi pöydän alla” runs until 15 December at @helsinki98theatre (Vuosaarentie 7, 00980 Helsinki, Finland).
You can find the links to the tickets and the original article (in Finnish) in our Bio.