Heiki Riipinen (NOR)

is a director, actor, costume designer, set designer and writer. He holds a BA in Acting from the Norwegian Theatre Academy (2015) and an MA in Directing from the National Danish School of Performing Arts (2023). His work explores themes such as power, norms, gender and sexuality through fiction and speculation, with the aim of creating existential and experimental entertainment featuring pop-cultural imagery, a post-ethical sensibility and political undertones.

His work has been presented at theatres such as the Münchner Kammerspiele, the Thalia Theater and the Oslo Nye Teater, as well as at festivals including Copenhagen Stage, the Donaufestival and GogolFest. He was artistic director at Teater Momentum and artist-in-residence at Theater Freiburg with the collective by Proxy. During the 2023/24 season, Heiki Riipinen served as resident director at the Werkraum of the Berliner Ensemble as part of the one-year WORX residency; his production HEDDA, created there, remains on the Berliner Ensemble’s programme, with rbb Kultur describing it as a “quirky, shrill, black comedy”.

He collaborates with groups such as Building Conversation, Ariel Efraim Ashbel and Friends, and the CUNTS collective, and has a long-standing relationship with Grenland Friteater. He teaches regularly at leading Scandinavian arts institutions and is a member of the advisory board of the Porsgrunn International Theatre Festival, VælkømINN/Teater Innlandet and Performing Arts Hub Norway.