The City Theatre is preparing for the theatre autumn of all time
The autumn programme of the Helsinki City Theatre will be supplemented, and in addition to the previously announced As in Heaven, Tatu and Patu in Helsinki, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Den besynnerliga eventn om hunden på natten, the premiere of the Finnish comedy novel The Security Man, the Finlandia Prize-winning Bollan will premiere in the autumn stage adaptation, the new drama Children, Mikko Reitala’s workplace comedy Paahtimo and the Finnish-Swedish co-production Sörjen som blev. The theatre will announce the premiere dates of the autumn season later, and tickets for the performances in October-December 2021 are now on sale.
In the autumn, the Helsinki City Theatre will bring to its repertoire the comedy novel The Security Man, written and directed by Pasi Lampela. Antti Granqvist, the raucous son of a wealthy industrial family, is preparing for the date of his life when a security guard hired by his father suddenly arrives and forbids him to leave. The family has been blackmailed, and Antti’s life is also in danger. This results in a clash between two people from completely different backgrounds, whose delicious interpreters are the surprising Martti Suosalo in the role of Antti and the amazing comedian Katja Küttner as the security guard. The premiere of the play, planned for the spring season, will take place on the Arena stage next autumn. The Quarantine Theatre will produce a live stream of the preview of The Security Guard on 15 April.
Star writer Pajtim Statovci’s 2019 Finlandia Prize-winning Bolla , which has attracted wide international interest, will premiere on a small stage in autumn 2021. The novelty, dramatised by Tuomas Timonen , will be directed by award-winning theatre maker Milja Sarkola. The cast includes Samuli Niittymäki, Mikko Kauppila, Jessica Grabowsky, Otto Rokka, Ursula Salo and Jouko Klemettilä.
Bolla tells a harrowing story about forbidden love between a married family man, Albanian Arsim (Samuli Niittymäki) and Serbian Miloš (Mikko Kauppila) in the conditions of war in Kosovo in the late 1990s. At the same time, the timeless and topical story raises questions about impossible relationships, but is also a depiction of human contradictions, marriage and longing. Are there situations where it is right to do wrong? Bolla is a great love story set in the middle of war, where good and evil are not black and white.
The second premiere of the autumn on the Small Stage is The Children (2016) by Lucy Kirkwood, a top name in British drama. The play, translated into Finnish by Reita Lounatvuori, is directed by Johanna Freundlich, and the roles are played by charismatic actors Jukka-Pekka Palo, Jaana Saarinen and Aino Seppo.
Hazel and Robin, a retired nuclear engineer couple, are living a simple life in the countryside away from the big world when Rose, a friend from their youth and former colleague, unexpectedly arrives. Love, friendship and old memories sparked in the air. The friends discuss their children, grandchildren, the life they have lived and the choices they have made. How far is everyone willing to go to repair the past and its traces? This surprising relationship drama asks what a good life is and what kind of world we will leave to future generations.
Mikko Reitala’s workplace comedy Paahtimo will premiere in the autumn at Studio Pasila. Directed by Sini Pesonen , the new comedy tackles current phenomena in working life in an insightful way. What does it take to succeed in today’s working life when nothing is what it seems to be? Is competence alone enough or is self-branding already a civic skill?
Anni, who is in her thirties, has two diplomas and excellent grades, but something is always stalling when looking for a job. Olivia, on the other hand, has a personal and socially talented half-sister who is showered with jobs and opportunities. When Anni applies for her dream job at the artisanal coffee factory Kofi, a misunderstanding offers an unexpected opportunity to combine Anni’s expertise and Olivia’s personality.
The newly roasted Finnish comedy stars Vappu Nalbantoglu, Sanna-June Hyde, Leena Rapola, Pertti Koivula, Jarkko Niemi and Jasir Osman.
On 1 September, Anna Takanen’s new play on the theme of war children , Sörjen som blev, will premiere on the stage of Lilla Teatern. The performance is based on Takanen’s book of the same name, published in 2019. You Are My Sorrow, 2020). Swedish-Finnish actress, director and playwright Anna Takanen bases the play on her own experiences as a child of a war child. Father Timo Takanen was one of the 70,000 Finnish war children sent to Sweden and one of the estimated 15,000 children who stayed in Sweden and never returned to their families in Finland. Who were they and why did they stay? And how will their experiences affect future generations?
Takanen himself, together with musician Harri Kuusijärvi , will take to the stage to present the story of three generations of sadness, shame and rootlessness, and at the same time make his acting debut in Finnish theatre. The performance is directed by Mikaela Hasán. The performance, which is produced in collaboration with two Swedish theatres, Riksteatern and Östgötateatern, will tour Sweden from October to December 2021. All the tour shows in Sweden have already been sold out.
Audience favourites continue in the programme
Based on Rosa Liksom’s novel (2017), dramatised and directed by Susanna Airaksinen and impressively interpreted by Heidi Herala , who charmed audiences and critics alike, Colonelinareturns to the Small Stage programme in autumn 2021.
The third part of the hugely popular trilogy, Saikkua, kiitos! PART 3, will return to the repertoire in the autumn season and move from Studio Pasila to the larger Arena stage on Hämeentie.
Studio Pasila’s repertoire continues with the stand-up club Club act!one and the all-time favorite that broke all records, Stones in the Pocket, starring Martti Suosalo and Mika Nuojua. Lilla Teatern’s programme continues with the musical Once, directed by Jakob Höglund.
Read the new Theatre Extra here.
Early autumn 2021 premieres at the Helsinki City Theatre
Tatu and Patu on the big stage in Helsinki , dir. Sami Rannila
As in heaven on the big stage, dir. Jakob Höglund
Security Guard on the Arena Stage, dir. Pasi Lampela
The Hound of the Baskervilles on the Arena Stage, dir. Sakari Hokkanen
The Grief That Became, premiere 1.9.2021 at Lilla Teatern, dir. Mikaela Hásan
Bolla on a small stage, dir. Milja Sarkola
Roastery studio in Pasila, dir. Sini Pesonen
Children on a Small Stage, dir. Johanna Freundlich
The strange incident with the dog at night Lilla Teaternissa, dir. Paavo Westerberg
Returning to the programme in autumn 2021
More, please! PART 3 on the Arena stage, dir. Otto Kanerva
Colonel on a Small Stage, dir. Susanna Airaksinen
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