Top director Ene-Liis Semper’s Untitled continues the collaboration between the City Theatre and the Theatre Theatre

On 20 April, Studio Pasila will premiere Untitled by top director Ene-Liis Semper, who is visiting Finland for the first time, featuring ten future theatre artists studying at the Theatre Academy. Untitled is the third co-production of the collaboration between the Helsinki City Theatre and the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, which began in spring 2021.

“The artwork Anonymous gives you the opportunity to encounter something that is usually too visible, too painful, too sensitive or too different to be named. It aims to create a space of trust between the performers and the audience, through which each viewer is allowed to define the things to be experienced in the performance in the way they want,” director Ene-Liis Semper describes.

“The body of a performer at the beginning of his career – pardon my poetry – is also still anonymous. Nameless and restless in his attempt to become something, fighting for his existence. The performance explores the performer’s body as a zone of different possibilities. The group of performers is moving towards the same infinite goal, constantly changing their form, finding new ways of being through each other, constantly redefining themselves. There is no text in the work, only encounters,” Semper continues. 

The work features third-year students of the acting programme at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki: Jesse Gyllenbögel, Akseli Ilvesniemi, Ronja Keiramo, Betadi Mandunga, Mitra Matouf, Samuel Onatsu, Emma Pälsynaho, Lina Schiffer, Alvari Stenbäck and Saku Taittonen.

Director Ene-Liis Semper is also responsible for the concept and visual design of the work. The lighting designer is Aku Lahti from the Theatre Academy, and the composition and sound design are by Jakob Juhkam . The dramaturgy of the movement is by Giacomo Veronesi. The assistants are Anita Kremm and Liisamari Viik.

The performance is a continuation of the three-year collaboration between the Theatre Academy’s Degree Programme in Acting and the Helsinki City Theatre, which began in the spring of 2021, in which third-year students of acting come to Studio Pasila for the spring and prepare a performance as their bachelor’s project together with professionals from outside the school.

Ene-Liis Semper is an award-winning Estonian video and installation artist and theatre director. Her work has been exhibited in several international exhibitions and festivals. Semper is one of the most internationally renowned contemporary Estonian artists. He is the founder and artistic director of Theatre NO99 in Tallinn together with Tiit Ojasoo . In addition, Semper has prepared performances for several other European theatres.

Jakob Juhkam is an award-winning Estonian composer and multi-instrumentalist. Jakob has released three solo albums and has also played in several Estonian pop bands. He has worked as a sound engineer and sound designer at Theatre NO99 in Tallinn, and has also composed music for plays elsewhere in Europe.

Giacomo Veronesi is an Italian theatre director, lecturer and performance artist who explores experimental forms of theatre and acting methods. She has acted and created performances for both theatre stages and public spaces in Europe and internationally.

Ene-Liis Semper will talk about her art in a guest lecture open to all in the main building of the Theatre Academy on 7 March 2023. Read more: Visiting Experts: Ene-Liis Semper

Untitled premiere 20.4.2023 at the Helsinki City Theatre’s studio in Pasila (Ratamestarinkatu 5). Tickets: student ticket 15 €, pensioner ticket 27 € (Mon-Thu), basic ticket 30 €#nimetön #uniarts #taideyliopisto #teatterikorkeakoulu @hktfi

Helsinki City Theatre ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 3940 22 Mon–Fri 9 am–5 pm. Ticket offices Ensi linja 2, Mon-Fri 12 noon–5 pm, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11 am–6 pm and always one hour before the performance and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9 am–9 pm, Sun 10 am–6 pm, 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. In the photo in the press release (left) Akseli Ilvesniemi, Emma Pälsynaho, Lina Schiffer, Saku Taittonen, Samuel Onatsu, Mitra Matouf, Jesse Gyllenbögel, Alvari Stenbäck, Ronja Keiramo and Betadi Mandunga. Photo by Nina Mellqvist.

Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788

Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja, 00530 Helsinki