La ruée vers l´or: Arctic Tall Tales

At the age of 19 years old, the young Danish boy Jørn Riel landed for the very first time on the North-East coast of Greenland. 

He spent 16 years there alongside a dozen of extraordinary trappers and immortalized their adventures in 10 books and 88 short stories with his characteristic humor. 

By bringing the Arctic Tall Tales on stage, with puppets and live music and sounds, Canadian La ruée vers l’or carries these legendary tales to the theatre audience.

The daily life of the protagonists strangely echoes the situation we are currently living in : confinement, isolation, loneliness, a sense of time that is infinitely stretching out, the limitation of resources, rationing, but also solidarity, mutual aid, creativity, autonomy and resilience. 

Now more than ever, it seems particularly relevant to give a tribute and a voice to these true polar heroes.

Arctic Tall Tales are originally a collection of short stories filled with humor and humanity, as well as a series of delightfully addictive comics. 

But here it’s presented you with a larger than life version, unlike you’ve ever seen, where puppetry, storytelling, music and soundscapes are blended to create a universe both uproarious and poetic.

Puppet Theatre Sampo

26.8. & 27.8.2026

19.30-21.00

Tickets 25€, age recommendation 10+

Performed in English, texts in Finnish