RISA: Only Bones 2.0

This contemporary circus production celebrates the wonder of physical expression and takes the audience on a journey that looks beyond the familiar boundaries.

The work reflects on our times, which seem to have taken a step backwards, as if humanity were in a state of degeneration. Everyone is striving for the ultimate fulfilment: that moment when the struggle ends and everything is finally complete. To reach our goal, we trample over one another like animals, without a care for the consequences.

This multifaceted performance plays on the boundary between light and shadow, exploring the very limits of physicality. Acrobatics and dance merge into a single, breathing whole that is at once virtuosic and bare; the body, the space and light bring a whole world to life on stage.

The ‘Only Bones’ solo concept is a minimalist physical theatre project developed by Thom Monckton, based on set parameters which each artist is free to either break or follow as they wish. The original instructions are “just one light, no narration, no set, no props, no text, and everything in a confined space”. The artists are then left to use their own skills to create their own unique worlds within the concept.

Recommended age: 10+
Duration: roughly 60 min

Creative team:
Direction and performance: Riia Kivimäki & Saku Mäkelä
Sound design: Hanna Mikander
Lighting design: Jere Mönkkönen
Concept: Thom Monckton
The performance has been supported by: The Swedish Cultural Foundation, Art Promotion Centre Finland, Subtopia and Cirko – Centre for New Circus.
Co-production: RISA and Stoa

RISA: Riia Kivimäki and Saku Mäkelä are internationally acclaimed dance and circus artists from Helsinki. Together, they have developed a unique and distinctive movement language in which partner acrobatics and dance are combined in an unprecedented way. They create interdisciplinary works of contemporary art that break the rules and boundaries within and between genres.

Their previous full-length production, GLG, was praised by both audiences and critics. You can read more about them on the RISA website.

Jere Mönkkönen is a lighting designer and technical producer. As a lighting designer, he is one of Finland’s most internationally successful figures in the performing arts, and his work has been seen in over 40 countries. In Finland, Mönkkönen’s works have been featured on the most significant stages in theatres (including the Helsinki City Theatre, the Turku City Theatre, the National Theatre and the National Opera). He has played a significant role in developing Finnish contemporary circus both in Finland and internationally. He has a wide-ranging interest in the performing arts, focusing particularly on the worlds of circus, visual theatre and object theatre. As a lighting designer, his primary interest is in supporting the core message of the work being worked on, be it a statement, a story to be told or a purely aesthetic experience.

Hanna Mikander is an experienced sound designer who has provided sound design for around 50 productions. She has also composed, arranged and produced music for numerous productions, such as Förgät mig (2025), Fröken Julie (2024), Ronja Rövardotter (2023) and Själarnas ö (2022). She works as an in-house designer at Svenska Teatern and has worked as a guest designer at venues including Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm, Viirus, Åbo Svenska Teatern, Lilla Teatern and Sirius Teatern.

Highlights from reviews of RISA’s previous work, GLG:

“Saku Mäkelä and Riia Kivimäki’s work is an acrobatic duet. It knows how to make the most of all the possibilities offered by a duet, from a deep, erotic intertwining to that breathtaking, absolute mutual trust that partner acrobatics demands.”
Maria Säkö, Helsingin Sanomat, 3 March 2022