Like in Heaven made director Jakob Höglund move back to Finland
In the autumn of 2018, Jakob Höglund felt tired and strained. He spent 12 years in Stockholm, where Höglund had toured theatres as a director and choreographer. The fast pace of work and constantly changing work environments had taken their toll, and his back was also suffering from an injury.
Höglund decided to go to the Oscar Theatre to see the most popular musical of the autumn, Så som i himmelen, which had been running to full houses for months. “I left, even though I didn’t even know if I could sit for three hours straight. But already in the first few minutes, I forgot all my own troubles and immersed myself in an emotional story,” Höglund says.
During the break, Höglund was struck by a strong feeling that he wanted to direct the play in Finland. “I felt I needed a change. I had thought that nothing interested me and suddenly I found a work that inspired me again. It was a wonderful feeling.”
After the performance, Höglund went to thank the Swedish director Markus Virta, who mentioned that the musical will be made in Finland. Höglund had a hunch that it could be the Helsinki City Theatre and immediately wrote to the theatre that he was interested in directing the play.
The email set in motion a chain of events that first gave Höglund the task of directing the musical As It Is in Heaven. The following year, he was hired as the artistic director of Lilla Teatern.
In a way, you could say that it was this musical that brought Höglund back to Finland. It’s funny that the play deals with the same topic. Back to the roots.
“It feels good to be able to be in my home country and in the same theatre for a long time and develop something instead of just changing from one theatre to another. The Helsinki City Theatre is a wonderful place to work, because it is the only theatre in Finland where I get to direct in both languages.”
In Search of the Meaningfulness of Art and Life, As It Is in Heaven tells the story of Daniel, a conductor with a long career, who is forced to quit his fast-paced work due to heart problems. Daniel moves back to his childhood home village, where he ends up conducting a small church choir.
A new life situation forces Daniel to rethink his life and find his music again. “I recognize the character of Daniel a lot. As an artist, you want to touch people, and at the same time, you are constantly thinking about why and how you make art,” Höglund says.
However, the play is not just about music or art, but more broadly about the search for the meaning of life and the true self. “The play is full of love and vitality. It’s an important and beautiful story,” Höglund says.
The play also deals with the relationships of a small village. A new person arriving in the village mixes up the village community, and the power of music awakens people in both good and bad.
The strong music is composed by Fredrik Kempe, who is one of Sweden’s best-known songwriters. The songs he composed have won the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest four times.
Music has been important to Höglund throughout his career. He has worked as a director and choreographer mostly in musical theatre. Höglund is an actor by training.
“I was interested in music and dance, and when I was young, I also wrote a lot myself. I think I became a director because everything interests me. And you have to be interested if you want to make a good whole, when everything in the performance is connected to everything.”
The best ideas are born in rehearsalsAs in Heaven is a drama musical that doesn’t feature ordinary show numbers. Höglund finds it interesting to explore how a play can still be made physical and fast-paced.
One of Höglund’s methods is to use actors to create the set and soundscape. “An ensemble is a bit like an orchestra. They make the sounds and the environment of the scene, and the audience accepts that they are present on stage for most of the performance,” Höglund explains.
Making sounds is also a dance, because the actors move when they make sounds. Set design is also used to make sounds. The tables and chairs are designed to sound like drums, and the trees on the stage sound great.
Höglund wanted to bring one visual element to the musical that he has not previously used in his directing. Höglund sees the story as memories of Daniel’s life, when shadow theatre seemed like an interesting way to create images.
“Because the story is Daniel’s memories, it doesn’t have to be realism,” Höglund says.
Höglund plans the direction and choreography before the start of the rehearsals, but also leaves room in the plan. He wants to pick up ideas from the working group.
“Quite a lot changes when you see what 20 people are doing on stage. The best ideas are developed together in exercises,” Höglund says.
For Höglund, the most important thing is to create an inspiring and fun work environment. “We have to have fun, because that’s when inspiration comes from. If it’s hard and boring, you won’t get ideas.”
Text: Ida Henritius