What does the internet raise girls to be, asks the performance little_star95 – ooksä online, which dives into the internet in the early 2000s?
Sara Koiranen, Iida Hägglund and the working group’s presentation little_star95 – ooksä online? is a nostalgia trip that invites you to take a trip to a teenage girl’s room and spend an evening on the internet in the early 2000s. The work, which will be completed during the Helsinki City Theatre’s Contemporary Performance Stage’s summer residency, will premiere on 7 August at Studio Pasila.
In August 2025, a working group consisting of a new generation of theatre makers will take viewers to a time when the internet was not available, but they had to go there. The teen drama that takes place in the IRC gallery, MSN Messenger and demi.fi is drawn on the computer screen, highlighting the painful hierarchies between the girls. The performance, which ventures between offline and online worlds, asks what kind of self-images and relationships the internet has created.
“The performance is an ode to girlhood, which is not pink or familiar from American films, but something stickier and messier. The members of the working group are united by the experience of being an outsider in youth, getting lost in one’s own fantasies and, of course, slouching on the internet. Through the Internet, it was possible to build connections with people and worlds that were not otherwise possible. We believe that the temporal distance of the performance to the internet of the zero era helps us to perceive what kind of changes and layers there are in the present time,” the authors of the work ponder.
Hilma Kotkaniemi will be seen on stage. The performance script and dramaturgy are written by Sara Koiranen and Mimmi Ahonen. Vera Kotkaniemi is responsible for the set and costume design, Elli Maria Kujansuu for the lighting and video design, and Iida Hägglund for the sound design and composition.
little_star95 – is it online? premiere 7.8.2025 and performances until 20.8.2025 at Studio Pasila (Ratamestarinkatu 5).
On Tuesday, 12 August, after the performance, a discussion of the works will be held in the space, which is open to the audience of the performance.
Tickets: basic ticket €25 and student ticket €12.50 (Mon-Thu) #little_star95 #nykyesityksennäyttämö @hkt_nykyesityksennayttamo @hktfi
The performance has been carried out at the Contemporary Performance Stage’s summer residency. The stage will bring various forms of contemporary performance into the Helsinki City Theatre’s repertoire.
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 3940 22 Mon–Fri 10 am–5 pm. Ticket offices First Line 2, Mon–Fri 12–17, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11–18.30 and one hour before the performance (ticket offices during summer break 17.5.- 28.7.2025) and Lippu.fi, Mon–Sat 9–21, Sun 10–16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi
Photo of the release: Mimmi Ahonen. In the photo: Hilma Kotkaniemi.
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788 (until 2.6.2025 and from 1.8.2025)
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja, 00530 Helsinki