Coffee with a writer brings together the audience, the author and the actors in a unique way
The Coffee with a Writer public events will continue, and Helsinki City Theatre actors Heidi Herala, Aino Seppo and Eija Vilpas will be joined by writer, Bishop Eero Huovinen on 20 April. Due to the pandemic, the popular public event will be held virtually for the first time.
Created by three well-known actors, Heidi Herala, Aino Seppo and Eija Vilppas , the warm-hearted Kahvilla kirjailijan kanssa (Coffee with a Writer ) programme focuses on the encounter between the writer and the actor together with the audience.
In the spring of 2021, Kahvilla kirjailija will debut as a live stream, and the trio of actors will be joined by bishop and docent Eero Huovinen. The subject is Huovinen’s autobiographical work Mammaä ikävä (WSOY).
“We are facing something completely new in this transition to live streaming. In front of a live audience, the moment is always unique, the streamed moment is recorded and the unique moment is duplicated. Will it become something deeper or heavier? Fortunately, we have a bishop as a guest. There’s nothing to worry about!”, the trio of actors say with a laugh.
Author meetings, which are free of charge for the public, have been held regularly since February 2018 in the balcony foyer of the Helsinki City Theatre. The event has gained great popularity and attracted a dedicated audience.
The idea for the Coffee with a Writer event came from long-time actor colleagues and friends Heidi Herala, Aino Seppo and Eija Vilppää during the renovation of the theatre in the temporary premises at the Sörnäinen Bread Factory, when the newly appointed theatre director Kari Arffman had thrown a challenge to the actors’ association to enliven the magnificent foyers of the renovated theatre. He was also inspired by the esteemed Book Chambers held by the house’s former dramaturg Kristiina Lyytinen in the 1990s.
“Our starting point was the roughness of Berlin, home-made thick sandwiches and a glass of wine or a cup of coffee. Nourishment for the soul and body,” the trio sums up.
“We are already waiting for the audience in the lower lobby. One of us is the main interviewer of the evening and the other two ask the author supplementary questions. Together, we take turns reading excerpts from the author’s works, and sometimes other actors from the theatre also make surprise visits to sing, play, dance or recite.”
“The authors invited are different from each other. There are the most prestigious award-winning writers in literature, bestselling authors, poets, non-fiction writers, first-time authors, sometimes based on a single work, sometimes because of the subject and sometimes because of the author himself. After all, we are different ourselves, who comes from the countryside, who comes from the city. The audience is also different from each other,” the trio of actors say.
Previous guest writers at the Coffee with a Writer events have been Annina Holmberg, Juha Itkonen, Sanna Karlström, Sirpa Kähkönen, Tommi Kinnunen, Leena Lehtolainen, Jani Mäkivalli, Sinikka Nopola, Tiina Nopola, Aulikki Oksanen, Riikka Pulkkinen, Saara Turunen, Kirsi Vainio-Korhonen and Johanna Venho.
Coffee with the author on 20.4.2021 at 4 pm. Participate in the free event here!
The recording can be watched afterwards on HKT’s Youtube channel until 4.5.2021.
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Press photos can be found in the image bank and press releases in the newsroom.
Further information and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager , kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki, hkt.fi