The participants of the Young Stage 2020–2021 have been selected – the Finnish National Theatre and the Helsinki City Theatre will start cooperation with their own groups

A total of 36 youth theatre groups have been selected to participate in the national Young Stage project to produce new plays in cooperation with professional theatres. Of these, 14 groups in the Uusimaa region are divided between the National Theatre and the Helsinki City Theatre. The work will culminate in a local festival on the stages of the Vallila National Theatre and studio Pasila in the spring of 2021. The entire project will end with a nationwide review on the Main Stage of the Finnish National Theatre in May 2021.

The selected groups are multidisciplinary and widely distributed nationwide. The sponsor groups of the National Theatre are the musical theatre group of Tapiola Upper Secondary School, the young people of the Järvenpää Theatre, Theatre Werner from Porvoo, the musical theatre á la Roinela from Klaukkala, the Uljas group of the Tikkurila Theatre and Circus School, and the groups of Kallio Upper Secondary School and Martinlaakso Upper Secondary School.  “It’s great that such a large group of young people who are enthusiastic about theatre are starting to work on new texts written for young people. We are proud to be able to collaborate with more than a hundred 13 to 19-year-old future creators and offer them the brand new stage of the Vallila National Theatre,” says Pirjo Virtanen, Theatre Curator at the National Theatre.

The Helsinki City Theatre, on the other hand, will start with the Annantalo musical theatre group Pyörre, Otaniemi Upper Secondary School, Vaskivuori Upper Secondary School, Tikkurila Theatre and Circus School’s Beckett Group, Teatteri Roinela’s E-ryhmä, Teatteri ILMI Ö and the MusTe collective, which has been assembled and run by young people themselves. 

“HKT is happy to be involved in this great project for the third time and as a link to the world of professional theatre for young theatre makers,” says Mirja Neuvonen, who is in charge of audience outreach at the City Theatre.

The groups of young people who have applied for the project will prepare performances mentored by a professional theatre from the new plays commissioned for the project. The works are Okko Leo’s Daddy, Katariina Numminen’s Girl Forest and Otto Sandqvist’s Flamingo Red Dream. The authors have been supported by dramaturg Annina Enckell. In addition, dramaturg Anna Krogerus chose Harriet Braun’s play Three from the British Connection project, which has been translated into Finnish by Jukka-Pekka Pajunen.

The work of the groups is supported by their own designated sponsor. The new sponsors of the National Theatre are Katariina Kaitue, Aksa Korttila, Harri Nousiainen, Ilja Peltonen, Tuire Kerälä, Katri Rentto and Sari Puumalainen. “I love young people! Young people are the future, they always offer a new perspective on life. I am very happy that young people are challenging our thinking, because it is important to see the other side of the coin. I want to offer an outsider’s perspective on what I do, to see the forest for the trees. I hope that I can offer my own professional skills to the group of young people, to cherish their peace and quiet to do their own thing. My basic idea as an educator has been ‘encourage, pay, transport’ and ‘the whole village educates’ – this is where I encourage,” says actress Sari Puumalainen , who is starting out as the sponsor of the National Theatre.

Aati Hanikka, Merja Larivaara, Vappu Nalbantoglu, Leena Rapola, Heikki Sankari, Inka Tiitinen and Marjut Toivanen will start as sponsors at the Helsinki City Theatre. “I am happy to be involved in building a bridge between different generations. Even those of us who have been in the profession for a long time are sure to give us a new kind of energy and light. Theatre is a great sport that requires courage and dedication. In the theatre, ‘everything is possible’ is also used. Welcome new, young creators to the team!”, says actress Merja Larivaara from the City Theatre.

The Young Stage project is implemented nationally by the Association of Finnish Workers’ Stages. The project is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the People’s Education Fund.

Read more: https://tnl.fi/nuorinayttamo/

Further information
Finnish National Theatre, theatre curator Pirjo Virtanen, tel. 050 374 2296, pirjo.virtanen@kansallisteatteri.fi
Helsinki City Theatre, Mirja Neuvonen, Head of Audience Outreach, tel. 040 352 3969, mirja.neuvonen@hkt.fi
Young Stage, producer Hinriikka Lindqvist, 040 570 6570, nn@tnl.fi