Note: No longer in repertoire!

The friends sink deeper and deeper into the couch. The intervertebral spaces of the spine fill with fluid.

Then the doorbell rang.

Somatic Sitcom is a performance that reveals the comic nature of everyday situations, objects and spaces. It finds poetry in small gestures: opening a door, sinking into the sofa and glances between friends.

The setting is a room familiar from 90s sitcoms. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Someone opens the door. The other throws the coat on the coat rack. Seemingly insignificant gestures grow into a fascinating choreography that invites you to observe the wonder and strangeness of everyday life.

The lower jaws become heavy and sag. The ball joints of the shoulders and hip sockets slowly begin to turn open. One of the legs of the sofa breaks.

The Somatic Sitcom performance is based on choreographer Anna Maria Häkkinen, stage designer Erno Aaltonen and dramaturg Emil Santtu Uuttu’s shared interest in classic 1990s sitcoms. The working group deconstructs the rhythms, gestures and moods of the era’s sitcoms, and subtly transfers them to the language of contemporary dance and bodily expression.

The trio has previously worked together on Phoenix – a deep relaxation serotonin release (2023), which was created for dance students at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and Afterglow, low lingering slips of light (2023), which premiered at the Performa Biennale in New York.

Somatic Sitcom is part of the stage repertoire of the Contemporary Performance . The Contemporary Performance Stage in Studio Pasila brings new forms of performing arts into the Helsinki City Theatre’s repertoire and creates unique encounters between a permanent professional theatre and independent operators.

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Five friends sink deeper and deeper into the sofa. The spaces between their vertebrae fill with fluid.

Then the doorbell rings.

Somatic Sitcom is a performance that reveals the comedy embedded in everyday situations, objects, and spaces. It discovers poetry in small gestures: opening a door, melting into a couch, the glances exchanged between friends.

The setting is a room familiar from 1990s sitcoms. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Someone opens the door. Another tosses a coat onto the rack. Seemingly insignificant actions expand into a captivating choreography that invites us to observe the strangeness and wonder of everyday life.

Their jaws grow heavy and slacken. The ball-and-socket joints of shoulders and hips slowly begin to open.

Then one of the sofa’s legs snaps and breaks.

Behind Somatic Sitcom lies a shared fascination with classic 1990s sitcoms between choreographer Anna Maria Häkkinen, scenographer Erno Aaltonen, and dramaturg Emil Santtu Uuttu. The team dismantles the rhythms, gestures, and atmospheres of sitcoms from that era and subtly translates them into the language of contemporary dance and embodied expression.

The trio has previously collaborated on Phoenix – a deep relaxation serotonin release (2023), created for dance students at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, as well as Afterglow, low lingering slips of light (2023), which premiered at the Performa Biennial in New York.

Somatic Sitcom is part of the programme of Stage for Contemporary Performance. Based at studio Pasila, Stage for Contemporary Performance brings new forms of performing arts into the repertoire of Helsinki City Theatre and creates unique encounters between an established institutional theatre and independent artists.

View the programme