REVIEW: He Sits on the Rock of Joy, Linda Perttula and Aino Elina, Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2025 ★★★★

Content Warning: Discussion of Su*cide

Join storyteller Linda Perttula and singer-songwriter Aino Elina as they journey deep into the woods of Kalevala, combining teenage memories, ancient poetry and ethereal vocals in search for a connection to a Finnish epic.

The audience for He Sits on the Rock of Joy are immersed in the world of the show right from the moment they walk into the performance space and begin to settle into their seats. Imaginative lighting bathes the stage of the Scottish Storytelling Centre’s Netherbow Theatre in the ethereal green haze and branch-like shadows of Finnish woodland, a steady rhythmic loop from Aino Elina’s music-making ‘station’ leading us all into this storybook land of rustling leaves and dappled sunlight. By the time Perttula welcomes us with her onstage introduction and we are all encouraged to sink deeper into the forest with a little collective sound-creation audience participation, Kalevala starts to feel very real indeed…

He Sits on the Rock of Joy is a show which celebrates Finnish folklore, but not one that takes Finnish folklore too seriously. Perttula puts us at ease from the very start by taking us into a solemn childhood memory about rune singing and church visiting…before immediately turning the memory into a joke by revealing that she is, in fact, a slightly unreliable narrator – “that may not actually be what happened, but I’m telling this story” – and that this deeply meaningful experience of watching live rune singing was actually “f*cking boring.” It is this playful irrelevance towards the stories Perttula tells throughout He Sits on the Rock of Joy which helps the performance shine, and Perttula’s regular autobiographical asides keep the audience engaged as we navigate this world of sea monsters, growing forests and morally questionable ‘wise’ old men.

Aino Elina, too, is a talented performer, interspersing Perttula’s storytelling with soundscapes and songs (Heart Pure Innocent/The Angry Song is a particular highlight) and owning her space on the stage with equal assured confidence. The two creatives work well as a duo, and for a new piece of work He Sits on the Rock of Joy is already a remarkably assured and well put together piece of theatre.

At the core of this show are the Aino/Väinämöinen tales, and it is here that real pain and sorrow sinks into the storytelling alongside the dry humour and the imaginative performances. Aino’s suffering at the hands of a lecherous old man and her unsympathetic mother is still sadly recognisable in society today, and Perttula and Aino Elina’s work truly honours the legacy of the real-life women whose fate echoed that of the fictional Aino’s. There is a sense of quiet outrage for the historic injustices faced by so many generations of women as Perttula and Aino Elina talk about Aino, and when the two performers share that they’re wearing bright traditional skirts to remember their own grandmothers it is a powerful moment. (As a small note, I would suggest that there is a trigger warning on the programme for themes of su*cide, as this topic is handled with care but is mentioned in some detail.)

More could be made of a few musical moments throughout the show, especially with the kantele, a Finnish folk instrument which is shown onstage throughout the performance and features heavily in the central story but gets limited actual playing time. More audience participatory sections would also be welcome, especially when the ‘forest creation’ sections at the start and the end are so effective.

On the whole, however, He Sits on the Rock of Joy is a cleverly crafted, deeply enjoyable piece of work, one with important lessons to share and plenty of wryly humorous moments along the way. Towards the end of the performance Perttula shares that the two women carry “our grandmothers’ names, and we live their dreams.” In this time of endangered rights, misogynistic rhetoric and increasing gender violence, shows like this remind us how far the fight for female rights has come – and how we must honour the legacy of all those women who fought for those rights, generation after generation, by continuing that fight today. Aino and her tear-stained wedding dress are not so very far away. He Sits on the the Rock of Joy reminds us never to allow ourselves to get dragged back into that past.

Recommended Drink: A big mug of Glögi would be the perfect accompaniment for this adventure into Finnish woodland and feminist magical wonders.

Performances of He Sits on the Rock of Joy have now concluded at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival.