Written by Sofi Oksanen, Purge exposes the brutality of the Soviet occupation of Estonia in the 40s and 50s and the exploitation of the country following its independence in 1991.

The play tells of two women, Zara and Aliide, each from different generations who are each troubled by a shameful past and the dark unspoken history that binds them.

Narrated through multiple story lines, Purge moves back and forth across time, portraying Aliide’s past, a period of night-time interrogations when thousands of families were shipped to Siberia and partisans hid in the forests, and the present day, when Zara is trapped in a world ruled by corruption, sexual exploitation and organised crime.

Oksanen originally wrote the play for the Finnish national theatre but, unwilling to let go of the characters she had created, she transformed the story into a best-selling novel of the same name, which has been translated into over 38 different languages.

Directed by Elgiva Field, this is the first production of Purge seen in the UK.