Description
158 Ways to Keep Warm – a documentary black tragicomedy about Kyiv’s war winter 2025‑2026. “Cold is frightening because it is invisible. Missiles, drones, fire and explosions are visible dangers. Cold is everywhere and nowhere.” – Iryna Serebriakova. Helsinki 98 brings to the stage Ukrainian playwright Iryna Serebriakova’s new play 158 Ways to Keep Warm (2026). The documentary work is a black tragicomedy about life in a city where attacks on electricity and heating infrastructure, blackouts and frost turn homes into unpredictable places. The play gathers testimonies, survival strategies, memories, news, conversations and dark humour from people living in Kyiv, forming a painful, intelligent and ruthless portrait of those trying to continue life amid war. What do you do when heating disappears and the indoor temperature drops to nine degrees, or even below freezing? When electricity flickers back only to cut out again as the next air strike begins? The piece shows how life in a megacity changes when water, electricity, heating and internet can no longer be taken for granted. Besides the cold, it deals with humiliation, injustice, loneliness, job loss and the impossibility of planning even a week ahead. Yet people keep experimenting, searching for an exit from a situation that seems to have none. The play includes a striking monologue about being compared to a hair‑dryer versus a microwave. Iryna Serebriakova (born 1988) is a Ukrainian playwright whose works have been performed widely across Europe since 24 Feb 2022, both as reading theatre and full productions. 158 Ways to Keep Warm was commissioned by Helsinki 98 and is the second Ukrainian documentary drama from the company; the first was Men in Daylight (2025). Helsinki 98, founded in 2023, explores “What can art be after 24 Feb 2022?” The world premiere will be at Helsinki 98’s own 80‑seat venue, Vuosaaren Tilajakamö, on Monday 7 Dec 2026 at 19:00. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture’s crisis‑impact mitigation grant, the City of Helsinki and the Oscar Öflundin Foundation. Production team: Writer Iryna Serebriakova; Translation & Direction Martti‑Tapio Kuuskoski; Direction, Production: Director; Roles: Niina Hosiaisluoma, Maksim Pavlenko, Senja Rajalin; Set, Light, Video, Poster: Pavel Semchenko; Sound Design: Samuli Kivelä; Costume, Mask, Organizer: Anis Kronidova; Choreography: Nina Bulgakova; Production & Marketing: HELSINKI 98. Running time about 1 h 20 min. Recommended for ages 15+. Director wishes to remain anonymous because of the war in Russia. Directions to Vuosaaren Tilajakamö (Vuosaarentie 7): by metro – exit at Vuosaaren, walk left from the Columbus exit toward the main entrance of Vuotalo; the former Vuosaaren high school is opposite. The walk takes about 3 minutes. By car – parking is available at Vuosaarentie 7. We reserve the right to make changes.