ZINKY BOYS
Part II of the Svetlana Alexievich Trilogy
“Remembering… it is like thrusting your hand into fire.”
Following 28 sold-out performances, ZINKY BOYS returns to the stage in autumn 2025 as the second part of the Svetlana Alexievich Trilogy, presented in full for the first time in Finland.
Based on Nobel Prize winning author Svetlana Alexievich’s acclaimed documentary work, the play confronts one of the Soviet Union’s most silenced conflicts: the war in Afghanistan (1979–1989). More than half a
million Soviet soldiers served there. The toll: 1.3 million Afghans dead, six million displaced, and tens of thousands of soldiers returning home wounded, forgotten, or in zinc coffins.
The Afghan war is Russia’s “forgotten war”, erased from the official narrative. On stage, soldiers, doctors, civilian workers, mothers, and wives speak with searing honesty. They recall the promises of heroism that lured them to the front and the bitter reality of abandonment that greeted them on their return. Unlike the
“Great Patriotic War,” there was no glory, only silence.
Premiered in April 2024, ZINKY BOYS resonates eerily with today’s world: propaganda, conscripted youth, and the machinery of war repeating itself.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“Though the interviews recall the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the play is really about Ukraine. The experiences of young men drafted into war, its incomprehensible futility, the meat grinder of propaganda –
all sound hauntingly familiar.”
– Helsingin Sanomat, Apr 24, 2024
“Extraordinarily powerful theatre in the heart of an East Helsinki suburb. (…) Pavel Semchenko’s videos and lighting give depth, contrast, and resonance to the stripped-down stage.”
– Voima, May 3, 2024
“Helsinki 98’s production Zinky Boys feels disturbingly current.”
– YLE Svenska, Apr 24, 2024
ARTISTIC TEAM
Writer: Svetlana Alexievich
Finnish translation & adaptation by: Martti-Tapio Kuuskoski & the Director
Cast: Sami Lanki, Emilia Neuvonen, Elli Närjä, Maksim Pavlenko
Direction & production: Director (anonymous due to the Russia’s war against Ukraine)
Set, video, lighting, poster: Pavel Semchenko
Costume & makeup: Anis Kronidova
Sound Design: Ville MJ Hyvönen
Movement & choreography: Ilkka Lampi
Produced by: HELSINKI 98
Duration: 2h 20min (incl. 15min intermission)
Recommended age: 16+
Note: No late admission
ABOUT THE COMPANY
HELSINKI 98 is a theatre collective exploring the urgent question: “What can art be after February 24, 2022?”
The production is part of the World on Stage initiative, supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Zinky Boys was a Thalia Prize finalist 2025.
THE SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH TRILOGY:
Part I: THE LAST OF THE SOVIETS (Oct 19-20, 2025)
https://fienta.com/s/neuvostoihmisen-loppu-kevat
Part II: ZINKY BOYS (Oct 26–27, 2025)
Part III: THE CHERNOBYL PRAYER (Nov 2–3, 2025) linkki
https://fienta.com/s/tsernobylin-rukous-tulevaisuuden-aikakirjat
CYCLE TICKET: See all three plays for €85 (Tickets bought separately €105).
VENUE & ACCESS
Vuosaari Tilajakamo, Vuosaarentie 7, Helsinki
By metro: 3-minute walk from Vuosaari station (Columbus exit).
By car: Parking available at venue.