Author · Playwright
Author · Playwright
“Life moves on. Hearts, sometimes, don’t.”
An introspective, episodic novel following the quiet, inner life of a middle-aged tram driver in Helsinki. Written in the first person, the story unfolds like a journal — daily observations, fleeting conversations, and chance encounters with passengers and strangers in the city.
Through moments of solitude and fragments of memory, the narrator reflects on lost artistic dreams, immigration, aging, and failed relationships. There is no conventional plot — instead, the rhythm of the tram becomes a metaphor for a psychological journey marked by stops, turns, and occasional moments of unexpected clarity.
The play follows a young Muslim man named Jesus, who arrives in Finland with his parents as an asylum seeker. The family lives in a reception centre, caught in the long, uncertain process of waiting for a residency decision — and tension quietly builds beneath the surface.
While waiting, Jesus begins to confront his own identity, realising he is gay — something that places him at odds with both his cultural background and the fragile world around him. Blending dark humour with deep tragedy, the play explores identity, belonging, bureaucracy, and the devastating irony of systems that fail the people they are meant to protect.
More Words
An upcoming work continuing Gian’s exploration of distance, memory, and belonging.
Novel · In Development
A forthcoming piece — details to follow as the work takes shape.
Ongoing
Gian continues to write poetry and short fiction alongside his longer projects — much of it still unpublished.
Read, Stage, Collaborate
Gian welcomes inquiries from publishers, theatres, and translators about his novels and plays.