The City Theatre’s blockbuster Kinky Boots will be continued at the Tampere Workers’ Theatre

Helsinki City Theatre and Tampere Workers’ Theatre are implementing a concept collaboration that is unique in Finland: the musical Kinky Boots , which was performed at HKT to full audiences this season, will have a new premiere on TTT’s Main Stage in autumn 2020. The successful musical will be seen in Tampere as a production according to the plan of HKT’s production director Samuel Harjanne’s working group. The stage combines the diamond expertise of TTT’s skilled musical actors and the key roles of HKT’s original cast.

“These boots should not be left in the closet,” say theatre directors Kari Arffman from HKT and Otso Kautto from TTT. “This is good news for all fans of Kinky Boots , as well as for those who didn’t get tickets to HKT’s sold-out shows. The cooperation benefits both theatres and, above all, the audience.”

The theatres have cooperated before, but not on this scale.

“The cooperation responds to the challenges of better regional accessibility and represents a way of thinking in which publicly funded theatres develop structures where high quality and cost-effectiveness meet. The good should not be thrown away. This is quality refining and recycling at the same time,” says Otso Kautto.

Kinky Boots arrives in Tampere under the guidance of a trusted artist. Last year, director Samuel Harjanne directed both Kinky Boots for HKT and the musical Billy Elliot for TTT, and with his successful directing, he burst onto the attention of the general public. In addition to Finland, the musical virtuoso is constantly working on international stages.

The roles will feature both TTT’s actors and familiar faces from HKT. From Helsinki’s production, Tampere will feature Lauri Mikkola , who charms in the role of drag queen Lola, and Petrus Kähkönen, who shines in the role of factory owner Charlie Price. The set design, costumes and choreography are the same as in HKT’s production. The set designer is Peter Ahlqvist, the costume designer is Tuomas Lampinen and the choreographer is Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson. The music is produced by HKT’s production conductor Eeva Kontu. The key roles of the musical and the entire cast of Tampere will be confirmed in May.

Musical tickets will go on sale on 13 May and can be purchased from Lippupiste’s online store and offices, as well as from TTT’s Ticket Office.

The composer of the Kinky Boots music is pop icon Cyndi Lauper and the screenwriter is musical guru Harvey Fierstein. The story is based on the film of the same name, written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth (2005). The musical premiered on Broadway in 2013 and has since garnered numerous awards, including six Tony Awards, three Laurence Olivier Awards and a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album. 

The premiere at the Helsinki City Theatre was on 30.8.2018 and the last performance is on 11.5.2019. At that time, the musical has been seen by about 100,000 spectators in 107 sold-out performances. Kinky Boots is the most watched of HKT’s musicals of the 2000s.

Further information and interview requests:
Helsinki City Theatre, Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Officer, 040 552 3788, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi
Tampere Workers’ Theatre, Communications Officer Sari Andersson, 050 5969 069, sari.andersson@ttt-teatteri.fi   

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