From story to theatre activities for the elderly

Ryhmä vanhempia naisia seisoo sisätiloissa kädet kohotettuna, hymyillen ja nauraen yhdessä kirkkaasti valaistussa huoneessa. He vaikuttavat iloisilta ja osallistuvat ryhmätoimintaan tai juhlaan.

In the autumn of 2023, the Helsinki City Theatre launched a From Story to Theatre activity aimed at the elderly, where they meet around stories. The activities will also continue in the 2026–2027 season. The From Story to Theatre activities are based on the utilisation of story theatre in encounter work. Story theatre is a form of improvisational theatre in which the participants’ experiences and stories are brought to the stage into small performances.

The groups, which met weekly at senior centres in Helsinki, started rehearsing story theatre in the autumn of 2023. The activities have been going on for three years, and the originally closed groups have been formed into a performing group, whose participants work as story theatre actors under the guidance of professionals. The activities have expanded into a performance tour, and the group, which will perform in the autumn season 2026, will once again tour different parts of Helsinki.

The From Story to Theatre activities are directed by Laura Ikonen and Reetta Kankare. The story theatre musician is Heli Lyytikäinen.

Further information:

Reetta Kankare, reetta.kankare@hkt.fi, tel. 050 4344 930.

The From Story to Theatre activities are part of the Helsinki City Theatre’s Time to Shine project for audience outreach, which brings participatory art activities into the everyday lives of elderly people in Helsinki. In the project, we encounter people on the fringes of art in different ways. The activities are funded by the City of Helsinki. Kaksi logoa: vasemmalla beige maalitahra, jossa on teksti Taidetta ikääntyneille, ja oikealla puhekupla, jossa on Helsinki Helsingfors mustalla tekstillä.