Helsinki City Theatre will have more than 280,000 spectators in 2023
In 2023, the Helsinki City Theatre had a total of 280,136 spectators (2022: 176,030, 2021: 104,117, 2020: 106,906, 2019: 305,568). The year 2023 was the first full year of performances without the restrictions caused by the coronavirus after 2019, and this was also reflected in the number of spectators – the audience found their way to the theatre almost as they did before the pandemic. The Little Mermaid and Mousetrap, which will receive additional performances on the big stage in the spring season, attracted the most viewers. Satisfaction with the City Theatre was also reflected in excellent ratings in the viewer survey.
According to a customer survey conducted for HKT’s customers in autumn 2023, theatregoers have been very satisfied with the operations of the City Theatre. HKT received an overall score of 6.2 in the survey (on a scale of 1–7). The respondents were particularly satisfied with the theatre’s recognition, the quality of the performances and the smoothness of ticket sales in the online store. A total of 5,951 customers who visited the Helsinki City Theatre between September and November 2023 responded to the survey conducted by Innolink.
In 2023, HKT’s programme featured a total of 41 different productions, of which 20 were premieres. A total of 727 performances were seen. In addition, more than 35,000 theatre friends participated in various audience outreach events and public events during the year.
The most viewers during the year were the enchanting Disney musical The Little Mermaid (55,589), which had its re-premiere in the autumn and will continue until the beginning of February, on the big stage. Another favorite of the audience on the big stage was the party musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (32,888).
On the Arena stage, the most viewers were the chillingly exciting classic detective novel Mousetrap (33,789), which will move to the big stage in the spring due to its great popularity. The second most spectators on the Arena stage were the British farce The Play That Goes Wrong (20,177).
On the small stage, the audience was particularly interested in Riikka Oksanen’s new Finnish play Who Killed Bambi? (4,381) and the fierce comedy Asmodeus and 1313 Souls (4,301).
Studio Pasila’s most watched performances were the children’s and young people’s musical theatre performance The Snow Queen (3,346), produced in collaboration with the Shed Foundation, and the satire Ape army (2,165), which dived into the world of meme investing and cryptocurrencies.
The favourites of the Swedish-language Lilla Teatern were Once (in Finnish) (5,300) and Röda rummet (3,798), based on Kaj Korkea-aho’s book.
Of the performances of the Helsinki City Theatre’s dance group Helsinki Dance Company, the main work of the group’s 50th anniversary year Special Night (3,931), which was seen on the big stage five times in the spring, received the most viewers.
HKT’s performances were also seen outside the company’s own house. Stones in the Pocket, starring Mika Nuojua and Martti Suosalo, visited 11 cities during the year with 18 performances. Helsinki Dance Company’s dance performance Special Night visited Kuopio at the Kuopio Dance and Music Festival in the summer of 2023. In addition, the theatre performance Zone Malmi, which was part of the regional Malmi project for audience outreach, was seen seven times in Malmi’s urban space, and the Elonsiivous theatre performance produced as part of the Art for the Homes of the Elderly project toured service units in Helsinki for 39 performances. Together with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Carrot on the Run concert performance for the Culture Sponsors was seen at the Helsinki Music Centre and on HKT’s main stage in the autumn.
The pre-sale of performances for 2024 also looks promising. At the beginning of the year, the premieres of the farce classic Money from the Air, Jerusalem, which was chosen as the best play of the 2000s, the thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story directed by Paavo Westerberg, the boisterous musical comedy Forever Young, and the collaboration between Helsinki Dance Company and Compañía Kaari & Roni Martin, Blood Wedding, will premiere. Lilla Teatern’s spring premiere will feature the musical Katrina, based on Sally Salminen’s novel. Autumn 2024 Moulin Rouge! More than 36,000 tickets have already been sold and reserved for the musical.
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 394022 Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket offices Ensi linja 2, Mon-Fri 12-17, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11-18 and one hour before the performance and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9-21, Sun 10-18, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi
In the photo: Mousetrap, Risto Kaskilahti, Elina Keinonen, Severi Saarinen, Sanna-June Hyde, Helena Haaranen, Santeri Kinnunen, Joel Hirvonen and Sauli Suonpää. Photo: Otto-Ville Väätäinen.
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki