The City Theatre’s versatile theatre autumn offers musical theatre and Finnish novelties
Helsinki City Theatre opens an amazing theatre autumn, which includes musical theatre performances My Day as a Groundhog, Tatu and Patu in Helsinki and Once, the relationship comedy Dinner among Friends, the dance piece Two-Coloured Fugue, a re-premiere of Christmas in the Forest, which takes special needs children into account, and new Finnish the plays Red Orphans, Another Bottle of Cava, Män kan inte våldtas and, as a Finnish novelty in late autumn, an evening of three miniature plays, Just the Best for Me, written by Sofi Oksanen, Maija Vilkkumaa and Elina Snicker.
Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn 2020 musical, Groundhog Day (2016), based on the popular film, will premiere on the big stage on 3 September. The musical is directed by Samuel Harjanne, the man behind many successful musicals. The musical comedy about a weatherman stuck in a small town stars Lari Halme and Maria Lund.
Tatu and Patu, Finland’s most popular children’s book characters, created by Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen, will be seen for the first time in a musical play, when Tatu and Patu take over the big stage in Helsinki from 26 November. The roles of the strange brothers arriving in Helsinki to visit their cousin Jori are played by Antti Timonen (Tatu) and Paavo Kääriäinen (Patu), and the play is directed by Sami Rannila.
The quartet of women who charmed in the successful play A Bottle of Cava and the Sun (2018) and founded a communal and individual retirement home in Portugal will return to the Arena stage in the independent sequel to Helena Anttonen’s warm and insightful comedy, Another Bottle of Cava, starting on 10 September. The director of the play, which tells the story of the life, friendship and aging of adults, is once again Milko Lehto, and the actors familiar from the first part, Aino Seppo, Eija Vilpas, Heidi Herala and Jaana Saarinen , will now be joined by Eero Saarinen and Joel Hirvonen.
Anneli Kanto and Lauri Maijala’s play Red Orphans will have its premiere on 2 September on a small stage. Lauri Maijala’s last directorial debut in HKT is a family tragedy set in the aftermath of the Civil War. The role of the widowed mother is played by Ella Mettänen and the children are Antti Autio, Anna Böhm and Wenla Reimaluoto. The story of motherly love, hope and forgiveness gives a voice to those who were completely innocent of the events around them.
Only the Best for Me, directed by Aino Kivi, presents three interesting Finnish authors and three new plays in one evening: Sofi Oksanen’s I Love You Already, Elina Snicker’s Cry for a Stranger and Maija Vilkkumaa’s Sea Weather. The plays, which vary in their genres, are united by themes of living a life that looks like one’s own, selfishness, motherhood, and what kind of world our children live in and what we demand of them. The cast includes Riitta Havukainen, Merja Larivaara, Aurora Manninen, Vappu Nalbantoglu and Kaisa Torkkel. The series will premiere on 27 October.
Dinner With Friends (1998), which won the Pulizer Prize (2000) and is also known as a film (2001), will premiere on 16 September at Studio Pasila, directed by Sari Siikander. In the recognizable comedy starring Risto Kaskilahti, Pihla Penttinen, Carl-Kristian Rundman and Ursula Salo, the couple’s breakup makes the friends reflect not only on their relationship with their divorced friends, but also on the state of their own relationship.
Helsinki Dance Company and Carl Knif Company’s joint dance performance Two-Colour Fugue , which was cancelled in the spring due to the coronavirus epidemic, will premiere on 12 October at Studio Pasila. Carl Knif’s choreography features Jonna Aaltonen, Jyrki Kasper, Pekka Louhio, Heidi Naakka, Mikko Paloniemi, Terhi Vaimala and Eero Vesterinen.
The musical theatre activities of the City Theatre and ShedHelsinki, which take special needs children into account, will culminate in the re-premiere of the musical play Forest Christmas on 9 December. The musical is directed by Heikki Sankari, and almost a hundred children and young people aged 9-19 will take to the stage.
On 5 September, the Swedish-language Lilla Teatern, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary, will have its Finnish premiere on 5 September, based on Märta Tikkanen’s iconic novel Miesta ei voi raiskata (1975). The play, dramatised by Lo Kauppi, is adapted and directed by Sara Giese. The main role is played by Minttu Mustakallio, who is visiting the Helsinki City Theatre for the first time.
The multi-award-winning Broadway musical Once , based on the popular Irish film (2007), will have its Nordic premiere at Lilla Teatern on 28 October. The musical is directed by Jakob Höglund, the artistic director of Lilla Teatern, and the main roles are played by Emma Klingenberg and Tuukka Leppänen.
During the autumn, the theatre will also feature interesting visits
Studio Pasila’s stage will be visited by the improvisation theatre Stella Polaris, which is celebrating its anniversary in September and December. Stella Polaris 30 years! The performance includes fully improvised all-night plays and musicals, a joint improv evening by Stella Polaris and HKT, improv clubs with changing performers, and Impro’s Mega spectacle night, during which almost the entire line-up of Stella Polaris performers will take the stage.
On the Arena stage, there will be a perceptive examination of humanity at stand-up comedian Ilari Johansson’s One-Night Gig on 13 November, and award-winning magician and mentalist Pete Poskiparta’s incredible Mentalist 3.0 will be seen at Arena on 8 October and 17 December.
The theatre group Blaue Frau will visit Lilla Teatern on 2 October, when the group’s third Livet ditt as, based on Nina Hemmingson’s darkly humorous comics, will have its world premiere. The second visit of the autumn to Lilla Teatern will be the Swedish premiere of actor Miiko Toiviainen’s award-winning monologue Kepeä elämäi Det liv som bli mig givet on 12 December.
HKT’s autumn season programme continues on the big stage with the beloved Disney musical The Little Mermaid and Kari Heiskanen’s gloomy comedy Stalin’s sweet whip on the small stage. Studio Pasila’s repertoire continues with the ever-popular Stones in Your Pocket and the stand-up club Club act!one.
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Next premieres at the Helsinki City Theatre
2.9.2020 Red Orphans on a Small Stage, dir. Lauri Maijala
3.9.2020 My Day as a Groundhog on the Big Stage, dir. Samuel Harjanne
5.9.2020 Men Can’t Be Raped Lilla Teaternissa, dir. Sara Giese
10.9.2020 Another bottle of cava on the Arena stage, dir. Milko Lehto
17.9.2020 Dinner with friends in Studio Pasila, dir. Sari Siikander
12.10.2020 Two-colour fugue studio in Pasila, chor. Carl Knif
27.10.2020 Only the best for me on a small stage, dir. Aino Kivi
28.10.2020 Once Lilla Teaternissa, dir. Jakob Höglund
26.11.2020 Tatu and Patu on the big stage in Helsinki, dir. Sami Rannila
9.12.2019 Forest Christmas studio in Pasila, dir. Heikki Sankari
Visits
5.9. – 5.12.2020 Stella Polaris 30 years! evenings at studio Pasila
2.10.2020 Blaue Frau – Life, Your Own Lilla Teaternissa, dir. Anders Larsson
8.10. and 17.12.2020 Pete Poskiparta – Mentalist 3.0 on the Arena stage
13.11.2020 Ilari Johansson – One Night Gig on the Arena Stage
12.12. and 14.12.2020 Miiko Toiviainen – The Life That Has Become Given to Me, Lilla Teaternissa
Public events
Coffee with a writer events in the foyer of the main stage. Free admission. Heidi Herala, Aino Seppo and Eija Vilppas will be joined by writers Pajtim Statovci on 8 October, Heidi Köngäs on 27 October and Antti Heikkinen on 17 November.
The website Safely to the Theatre contains up-to-date and updated instructions for safe theatre visits.
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
Press photos can be found in the image bank and press releases in the newsroom.
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Helsinki City Theatre, Communications Manager Kaisa Pelkonen, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 0405523788
Lilla Teatern, PR & Marketing, Ida Virkkunen ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki