Stella Polaris improvises at Lilla Teatern
Improvisation group Stella Polaris will visit the Helsinki City Theatre’s Lilla Teatern in October and December with several different productions. There will be all-night performances Oi, Mis Farssi and Helsinki Noir, Improvklubi with the stars and Stella & Stjärnfall’s improv evenings Svenska Dagen Efter and En Stjärnspäckad Show!
Oh, What a Farce will premiere on October 5. There will be no shortage of surprising plot twists and unforgettable characters when Stella Polaris’ seven-member cast improvises a full-length farce on the stage of Lilla Teatern.
Helsinki’s crime drama Helsinki Noir will premiere on 12 October. In these performances, Stella Polaris is inspired by the gloomy moods of Nordic noir and shapes them to her liking. In improvised crime plays, humour has not been forgotten either – but it is dark.
The Improv Club with the Stars evenings start on 11 October. In addition to Stella Polaris’ own performers, one of the actors from the Helsinki City Theatre will take turns visiting the clubs. Aino Seppo 11.10, surprise guest 1.11, Heidi Herala 16.11, Pia Runnakko 7.12 and Riitta Havukainen 13.12.
“These brave actors dare to put themselves and their skills on the line in front of an audience. In the first half, the actor is interviewed as himself, and in the second half, he gets to play with the roles of the actors of Stella Polaris. The club night opens up the actor’s story to the audience from a completely new angle,” says Sari Siikander, who hosts the improv club.
During the autumn, you can also enjoy a language immersion in improvisation, when Stella Polaris performs together with the Swedish-language improvisation theatre Stjärnfall on 7 November and 15 November. At the Stella & Stjärnfall evenings, Tobias Zilliacus and Mikael Rejström will take the stage, as well as representatives of the Stjärnfall ensemble.
The performances alternate with Stella Polaris actors Sari Siikander, Jussi Vatanen, Sari Havas, Outi Mäenpää, Tobias Zilliacus, Elina Stirkkinen, Pihla Penttinen, Teijo Eloranta, Tiina Pirhonen, Mikael Rejström, Niina Sillanpää, Miiko Toiviainen, Ushma Karnani and Antti Laukkarinen.
The musicians in the performances are Topi Korhonen, Hannu Risku, Iiro Ollila and Jouni Kannisto. The lighting design of the performances is by June Horton-White, Jyri Suominen, Ainu Palmu and Marianne Lagus.
Stella Polaris is a Helsinki-based improvisational theatre consisting of theatre professionals, founded in 1990. The theatre’s repertoire consists of completely improvised performances, including plays, comedies and musicals.
Oh what a farce 5.10.-29.11.2019, Helsinki Noir 12.10.-27.11.2019, Improvklubi with the stars 11.10.2019-13.12.2019 and Stella & Stjärnfall Svenska Dagen Efter 7.11.2019 and En Stjärnspäddad Show! 15.11.2019 at Lilla Teatern. Tickets 34 € (incl. PM)
The language of the performance is Finnish, with the exceptions of Improvklubi with the stars on 1 November and Svenska Dagen Efter, which will be performed in Swedish, and En Stjärnspäckad Show!, which will be performed in Finnish and Swedish.
Helsinki City Theatre ticket office, First Line 2, Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Eläintarhantie 5 Sat 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and one hour before the performance and Lippupiste Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sun 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi