Maija from Myrskyluoto was the main attraction of the Helsinki City Theatre, which increased its audience numbers

The Helsinki City Theatre, which opened its doors in August after two years of renovation, increased its audience figures by more than 20 per cent in 2017. The most popular musical was the grand musical of the anniversary year, Maija of Myrskyluoto, composed by Lasse Mårtenson, which will continue in the spring season of 2018.

In 2017, the City Theatre had 270,552 spectators, which was 58,646 more than in the previous year 2016. In addition, almost 12,000 theatre friends took part in the behind-the-scenes tours, workshops, artist meetings and other audience outreach events. During the year, the City Theatre had 36 different productions in its repertoire, and a total of 820 performances were seen on nine different stages, including the temporary facilities.

In addition to the musical Myrskyluodon Maija (65,923 spectators), which was performed on the main stage in the autumn season, the audience’s favourite was the musical Kirka by the Peacock Theatre, which served as a temporary venue last spring, with more than 40,000 spectators.

The farce Tenorit liemessa (19,032 ) received the most spectators on the Arena stage, and on the small stage, the audience was interested in the stage debut of Hansu ja Pirre – Mieleni minun tekevi (6,861 ), a favourite character known to the whole nation.

At Studio Pasila, the largest audience numbers were collected by Saikkua, who toured around Finland, thank you! (11,700 ) and the Father with a memory disorder (7,408).

In the bilingual Lilla Teatern’s repertoire, the favourites were the relationship comedy Mieletön metodi (3,798 ) and the new revue Det ordnar sig, Sapiens! (3,522 ).

The productions of the Helsinki City Theatre’s dance company, Helsinki Dance Company, Keijukaisneuvos Koo, Jemina – The Great American Show and The Christmas Calendar for Adults attracted a total of 6,030 spectators.

During the year, the City Theatre’s performances were also seen outside the city’s own building. The record-breaking popular Stones in the Pocket , which has been performed to full houses since 2002, visited 11 localities during the year, and the classroom performance Rabbit and Prisoner on the School Bench toured schools in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.