The Grapes of Reason

Penned and directed by Saara Turunen, The Grapes of Reason addresses the contradictions between rationality and corporeality. It questions whether the needs of the body and the mind can remain hidden, or will they, eventually, burst out in the open. And further, why are women especially expected to control their bodies? The work examines the themes of reproduction and sexuality, death, shame, and societally accepted ways of living.

The title refers to John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath. But where Steinbeck focuses on land, its destruction, and the impact of capitalism on people, The Grapes of Reason looks at the difficult coexistence of corporeality and reason, and the outcomes of denied embodiment.

The Grapes of Reason is quintessential Turunen: minimalistic and few of words yet bursting with observations of recognisable phenomena. Everyday occurrences are rendered absurd when normative codes of behaviour are set aside. Turunen’s preferred method of storytelling is evident here: the audience is treated to a series of fragments, of brief flashes of life, rather than traditional narrative. Music and visuality are key elements of the performance.

The Grapes of Reason is the third instalment of Turunen’s Room Trilogy, but the play works equally well as a stand-alone drama. The trilogy explores societal norms using a feminist lens. On stage, typically Finnish restraint and expressionlessness disguise inner smouldering. The tragic and the comic are never far apart.

The work received its world premiere in September 2022. In 2023, it was performed in De Singel Theatre in Belgium and Turunen directed it at the Schauspielhaus Bochum theatre in Germany.