The City Theatre published its annual report for 2022 – in the 2022–2023 performance year, the theatre came close to pre-pandemic figures with more than 251,000 spectators
A total of 18 new premieres were produced at the Helsinki City Theatre in the 2022–2023 performance year. A total of more than 251,000 spectators visited the theatre during the autumn and spring (2021–2022: 140,000, 2020–2021: 51,000). In addition, a total of more than 31,000 people participated in audience outreach activities and various events. A total of 694 performances were seen during the year.
The Helsinki City Theatre’s Annual Report 2022 is available on the theatre’s website.
“The audience has found their way back to the theatre and we are really happy about that. The average occupancy rate on all our stages was 78 per cent, and especially the high occupancy rates on the big stage have eased our financial situation and we can look forward with confidence. The audience has also been interested in next autumn’s programme,” says theatre director Kari Arffman, who directs the musical Dear Evan Hansen, which will premiere in September.
On the big stage, the most viewers in the 2022-2023 performance year were the party musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (86,147) and Fanny and Alexander (19,463), which sold out almost all of its performances. On the Arena stage, the farce The Play That Goes Wrong received the most viewers (20,179) and on the small stage, the ageless love story Silent Bridges (4,756). On the bilingual stage of Lilla Teatern, Kris och katastrof i Moominalen (8,211) and Once in Finnish (5,300) received the most viewers. At Studio Pasila, the most viewers were an imaginative update of the play Dangerous Relationships (4,675). Of the performances of the City Theatre’s dance group Helsinki Dance Company, the 50th anniversary performance Special Night (3,931) received the most viewers. The most popular foyer performance was Senior Soup (2,245). The performances on the stage of the Contemporary Performance, which encourages diversity and dialogue between the arts, attracted a total of 1,128 spectators during the performance year.
Helsinki City Theatre is a nationally significant employer in both the theatre and the entire event industry. During the 2022-2023 performance year, HKT employed almost 350 artistic staff, of whom almost 70 were paid monthly and about 280 were freelancers. In addition, the theatre employed about 230 technical and administrative staff during the year.
Coming in the autumn season 2023
The diverse programme of the autumn 2023 season will start with the premieres of the Contemporary Performance stage at the beginning of August. The wordless puppet theatre performance Nano Steps will premiere on 8 August and Dilemma directed by Masi Tiita on 22 August at Studio Pasila.
The autumn season on the big stage will be opened by the enchanting Disney musical The Little Mermaid, which will have its re-premiere on 17 August, and on 28 September, the internationally successful musical Dear Evan Hansen will have its Finnish premiere on the big stage. The audience’s beloved Seniorisoppa concerts will continue in the autumn in the foyer of the main stage.
On 31 August, the new Finnish play Who Killed Bambi? will premiere on the Small Stage, and in addition, two favourite performances will return to the Small Stage repertoire. The re-premiere of The Colonel, starring Heidi Herala, will take place on 14 September, and Helsinki Dance Company’s and Kinetic Orchestra’s dance piece Gravity on 20 September.
The autumn season on the Arena stage will open on 7 September with the chilling thriller Mousetrap. In addition, the ever-popular Stones in Your Pocket will continue on the Arena stage.
On 27 September, the satire Ape army, directed by Tuomas Rinta-Panttila, will premiere at Studio Pasila. The popular stand-up club Club Act!one will continue in studio Pasila’s repertoire.
Röda rummet, based on Kaj Korkea-aho’s novel, will premiere on the Swedish-language stage of Lilla Teatern on 14 September and the classic Figaros bröllop (The Marriage of Figaro), directed by Jakob Höglund, on 19 October.
Annualreport 2022 in English Annual report 2022 in English
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 394022 Mon-Fri 9-17.30 (13.5.-30.7. Mon-Fri 9-16). Ticket offices First line 2, Mon-Fri 11-17.30, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11-18 and one hour before the performance (ticket office during summer break 13.5.-30.7.) and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9-21, Sun 10-18, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi
Photo from the play Fanny and Alexander, photographer Otto-Ville Väätäinen.
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Communications Coordinator Peppi Lehmussaari, peppi.lehmussaari@hkt.fi, 050 336 4747
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki