The Summer Book

Tove Jansson is a Finnish author and artist. She spent part of her life on a tiny solitary island in the middle of the Gulf of Finland and set the plot of The Summer Book on another tiny island. Yet in our play it is all but tiny. This is where adventures take place, day in, day out, where Sophia and her grandma play games, have their rituals, take care of the island as they explore it, build new little Venices. This is where impostors embark, and terrible storms come and go. The Summer Book is a story about two anti-heroines who – instead of embarking on a single life-changing journey – take small trips with each new game they invent and learn about themselves and each other step by step each day. In these games and everyday trips they always keep an ear to nature, to the woods, the sea and the birds, which become signposts in their lives. In the times we live in right now, The Summer Book is a gorgeous reminder of our long playful summers and childish matters of heart, which should not be taken lightly. Instead, like Sophia’s grandma, we should give them our full attention and time.