The clown—or the fool—tends to appear in moments of crisis and renewal, balancing on the threshold of death and (re)birth. As a reflection within the current times of distress, choreographer Mikko Niemistö resurfaces the clown as an entertainer, a provocateur, and even a spiritual figure. The Tormentor builds up as a weird and sacrilegious clown performance—a solo that creates cracks in this archetypal theatrical character and places it in the frame of contemporary choreography. In the piece, Niemistö draws from his past studies of physical theatre, fusing them with his practice of associative and improvisational movement practices. Inspired by dances, traditional clown routines and the upside-down world of carnival, the work draws from historical manifestations of clowns and jesters, from medieval carnivals to Finnish pre-Christian and monstruous pagan figures—exploring the roots of the clown, combining rituals, transgression, and humor.

Mikko Niemistö is a choreographer and performer based in Helsinki. He creates stage pieces where contemporary choreography and theatricality engage in dialogue, often with a special focus on sound and music. He graduated as a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2017. In his works, Niemistö explores the formulation of the self through silent knowledge and accumulations of bodily memories. He focuses on the shadow zones of everyday reality, like dreaming, psychedelia and the supernatural. During 2026–2027 he is embarking on an artistic journey that aims to revisit and deconstruct his background in physical theatre and the corporeal and historical manifestations that it brings to light.

Niemistö’s works have been shown at e.g. Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Moving in November, and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Finland, Inkonst in Sweden, far° festival in Switzerland, CCN de Caen en Normandie in France, and ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival in Austria, where his solo work Odd Meters received the jury’s special mention in the [8:tension] Young Choreographer’s Series in 2022.