The carnivalesque satire Ape army is both intelligent and unintelligent
Okko Leo’s premiere play Ape army, which deals with meme investing and cryptocurrencies, will premiere at Studio Pasila on 27 September. The play, directed by Tuomas Rinta-Panttila, carnivalizes the self-ironically light-hearted way millennial investors operate in the world. The main roles are played by Olli Riipinen and Anna-Sofia Tuominen.
Ape army is a breathtaking satire about two unemployed millennials, Janica (Anna-Sofia Tuominen) and Otto (Olli Riipinen), whose dreams differ from the traditional. They do not expect long careers or save for an owner-occupied home, but live in the moment and aim higher than given: on a rocket to the moon and from there to Mars. On a whim, they invest their unemployment benefits in meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. After two days of investing in stocks, they realize that they are investment gurus, and together with a group of investor nerds they found online – an army of monkeys – they semi-accidentally mess up the entire global economy.
“Memes, investment apps, meme stocks, cryptocurrencies, and in fact, the entire modern economic system exist mostly in the digital world. This digitality has been taken as a central element of the aesthetics of the performance; There are dozens of screens on the stage, which feed the viewer an endless and continuous stream of images. The economic world is also associated with speed, sometimes even hysterical, and this has also been transferred to the work itself. The weave of acting, video design and sound design creates a breathtaking whole that really springs from today, our time and what the world around us is like at the moment,” says director Tuomas Rinta-Panttila .
Ape army discusses the phenomenon called meme investing that has shaken the world’s stock markets and comments on it mischievously. The events of the play are more or less based on reality, but since it is a comedy, everything has been overdone.
In addition to Anna-Sofia Tuominen and Olli Riipinen, the cast includes Sari Haapamäki, Vuokko Hovatta, Pekka Huotari, Jouko Klemettilä, Vappu Nalbantoglu, Jari Pehkonen, Leenamari Unho, Juho Uusitalo and Mikko Virtanen.
The play is written by Okko Leo. The set and costumes were designed by Vilma Mattila. The sound design is by Eliel Tammiharju and the lighting and video design by Joonas Tikkanen. The camouflage was designed by Aino Hyttinen. The dramaturg of the play has been Ari-Pekka Lahti.
Read the interview with director Tuomas Rinta-Panttila on the theatre’s website: Intelligent and Brainless Satire
Ape army premieres on 27.9.2023 at the Helsinki City Theatre’s studio in Pasila (Ratamestarinkatu 5).
Tickets: basic ticket 36 €, student ticket 18 € (Mon-Thu) and pensioner ticket 33 € (Mon-Thu). #apearmy @hktfi
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 394022 Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Ticket offices Ensi linja 2, Mon-Fri 11-17.30, 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: Anna-Sofia Tuominen, Olli Riipinen and Jouko Klemettilä. Photo: Mitro Härkönen.
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