Liina-Tango

From sleep rag to skin language, from ironing boards to cuffs

Liina-Tango is a dramatic ensemble of the textiles we use that touch our skin. These include handkerchiefs, table cloths, pillowcases, aprons, headscarves and towels. Especially self-made textiles have a greater significance in social situations, emotional memories and human well-being than their physical use value. Time, skill and imagination have been used to make them.

Everyone has a cloth that is associated with special feelings. A baby has a sleep rag. For adults, it is important to sleep smoothly, in linen bedclothes or satin sheets.

We wrap ourselves, we drape ourselves and we make love with our favorite cloths.

Anne Välinoro: “In my one woman’s performance Liina-Tango (Cloth Tango), I use different cloths using the means of object theatre. I look for new uses and characters with the cloths through metamorphoses. I build my dramaturgy on the changing forms and stories of the cloths. The performance progresses with visually insightful turns, in which each new cloth tells about its uses.”

Anne Välinoro (b. 1961) is a long-standing theatre practitioner, cultural journalist and critic from Tampere. Her career includes working as a journalist at Aamulehti from 1990 to 2018, as well as around ten guest directing assignments at professional theatres. She has also written a non-fiction book about actors from Tampere, Mikä rooli – näyttelijä Tampereelta (2013, Tampere-Seura). In recent years, Anne Välinoro has brought short films she has directed to care homes and assisted living facilities, presenting them as hosted screenings.