Five Finnish premieres – this is what Helsinki City Theatre’s early autumn 2026 looks like / Five domestic premieres – this is how Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn 2026 begins
Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn programme is a diverse selection of Finnish premieres, music and comedy. The season on the big stage will be opened in August by the hit musical & Julia and in September by the musical drama The Story of a Laughing Vagabond. On the Arena stage, people laugh with the new Finnish relationship comedy, Kotijoukot. Elolliset, based on the book by Iida Turpeinen and a co-production with the WAUHAUS collective, will premiere on the small stage. Other premieres in the autumn include the adventure musical Fretti Mercury Seeks Happiness for the whole family, Lilla Teatern’s black humour De obehöriga, and Birds of Paradise, which draws on the paradise birds and show wrestling of the Contemporary Performance. In addition, the warm-hearted comedy Kurtturuusut will continue its performances on a small stage.
The autumn season on the big stage opens with the jukebox musical & Julia, which premieres on 20 August. In a pop delight sprawling with hit songs from the 1990s and early 2000s, William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway rewrite the famous love story. This time, Julia chooses life and starts over. & Julian is directed by Samuel Harjanne and stars Renée Böök, Mikko Peltomäki, Tuukka Leppänen, Maria Lund, Martti Manninen, Niki Rautén, Laura Alajääski, Risto Kaskilahti, Raili Raitala and Mikko Vihma.
The second premiere on the big stage will take place on 30 September. Written by Sami Keski-Vähälä and adapted and directed by Paavo Westerberg, The Story of the Laughing Tramp tells the story of the beloved Vesa-Matti Loiri’s artistry and reflects on how life stories are born. The musical drama depicting the era of unified culture stars Santeri Kinnunen, Oliver Kollberg, Maria Ylipää, Joel Hirvonen, Vuokko Hovatta, Jouko Klemettilä, Lasse Lipponen, Ella Lymi, Vappu Nalbantoglu, Jari Pehkonen, Ursula Salo, Antti Timonen and Kaisa Torkkel.
The autumn on the Arena stage will start with the new fast-paced comedy Home Troops, written by Niina Lahtinen and Joonas Nordman and directed by Anna Dahlman, which will premiere on 2 September. Hanna and Matti’s routine relationship gets a new spice when the neighbors sign them up for the elite troop trainer’s relationship camp. However, the trainer is worryingly serious and there was no time to agree on a safe word. The cast includes Niina Lahtinen, Joonas Nordman, Jarkko Pajunen, Emilia Sinisalo, Helena Haaranen, Sanna Saarijärvi and Sauli Suonpää.
On the small stage on 3 September, Elolliset, based on Iida Turpeinen’s bestselling book of the same name, will premiere. The play, dramatised by Pipsa Longa, tells the story of the birth of the concept of extinction. The highly audiovisual work is directed by Juni Klein and the artistic design is by the WAUHAUS collective. Cast: Rauno Ahonen, Noora Dadu, Heidi Herala, Sanna-June Hyde, Unto Nuora, Mikko Paloniemi, Justus Pienmunne, Aino Seppo and Alexander Wendelin.
On 23 September, Studio Pasila will premiere the adventure musical Fretti Mercury Seeks Happiness for the whole family. In the deep-minded musical based on the children’s book of the same name by Miika Nousiainen and Sanna-Mari Pirkola, the melancholy Ferret Mercury lures her friend Jänis Virtanen to seek happiness. The stage work, dramatised by Nousiainen himself, is full of original linguistic delight and inventive music by composer Marzi Nyman and lyricist Mariska. The musical depicting friendship is directed by Jukka Nylund and stars Inkeri Hyvönen, Tuomas Korkia-aho, Sari Haapamäki, Sofia Hilli, Juha Jokela, Kai Lähdesmäki, Tiina Peltonen and Inka Tiitinen.
Studio Pasila will also enjoy dancing when Birds of Paradise, the summer residency of the Contemporary Performance Stage, premieres on 6 August. Choreographer Tiia Kasurinen’s dance performance draws on the courtship dances of birds of paradise, show wrestling, love songs and longing. The dancers are Tiia Kasurinen, Kaisu Koittola and Lauri Lohi.
On 5 September, the Swedish-language stage of Lilla Teatern will premiere De obehöriga, which is full of black humour and sharp contemporary satire. A group of neighbours from Töölö are gathering to discuss the problem: unauthorised people have started to move around in the stairwell. This is Lillan’s new artistic director, David Sandqvist’s director, for the first time as director. The cast includes Aksinja Lommi, Mawlawi Rahem, Pia Runnakko, Sampo Sarkola and Joachim Wigelius.
In the autumn season, the programme will continue with the warm-hearted comedy Kurtturuusut on a small stage. In addition, the stand-up club Club act!one will continue in the studio Pasila. On the Arena stage, Stones in Your Pocket will make you laugh for the last time, as the performance season will end in November after 24 years.
Read the new Teatteriin magazine here.
Early autumn premieres at the Helsinki City Theatre
6.8.2026 Birds of Paradise, chor. Tiia Kasurinen
20.8.2026 & Julia, dir. Samuel Harjanne
2.9.2026 Home Troops, dir. Anna Dahlman
3.9.2026 Elolliset, dir. Juni Klein
5.9.2026 The unauthorized, dir. David Sandqvist
23.9.2026 Ferret Mercury Seeks Happiness, dir. Jukka Nylund
30.9.2026 The Story of a Laughing Tramp, dir. Paavo Westerberg
In the autumn of 2026, the repertoire will continue withKurtturuusut, dir. Miika Muranen
Stones in Your Pocket, dir. Pentti Kotkaniemi
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 394022 Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket offices First line 2, Mon-Fri 12-17, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (performance days) 11-18.30 and one hour before the performance and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9-19, Sun 12-16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi
Photo from the play Home Troops, in the photo Joonas Nordman, Jarkko Pajunen, Emilia Sinisalo and Niina Lahtinen, cinematographer Otto-Ville Väätäinen.
Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Lilla Teatern, Communications Planner, Ida Virkkunen ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki, www.hkt.fi
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Five Finnish premieres – this is how Helsinki City Theatre begins autumn 2026Helsinki City Theatre’s autumn repertoire offers a diverse mix of Finnish premieres, music and comedy. On the main stage, the season begins in August with the hit musical & Julia and in September with the musical drama Nauravan kulkurin tarina. On the Arena stage, there will be laughter with the new Finnish relationship comedy Kotijoukot. On the small stage, Elolliset, based on Iida Turpeinen’s book and produced in collaboration with the WAUHAUS collective, will premiere. Other autumn premieres include the adventure musical Fretti Mercury etsii onnea for the whole family, Lilla Teatern’s darkly humorous The Unauthorised and Nykyesitysn näyttämö’s production Birds of Paradise, which is inspired by birds of paradise and show wrestling. In addition, the warm-hearted comedy Kurtturuusut will continue on the small stage.
On August 20, the jukebox musical & Julia opens the autumn season on the main stage. In this exuberant pop party with hits from the 1990s and early 2000s, William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway write about the famous love story. This time, Julia chooses life and starts over. & Julia is directed by Samuel Harjanne and stars Renée Böök, Mikko Peltomäki, Tuukka Leppänen, Maria Lund, Martti Manninen, Niki Rautén, Laura Alajääski, Risto Kaskilahti, Raili Raitala and Mikko Vihma.
The second premiere on the main stage will take place on September 30. The Story of the Laughing Kulkuri, written by Sami Keski-Vähälä and adapted and directed by Paavo Westerberg, is about the beloved Vesa-Matti Loiri’s artistry and reflects on how life stories are created. The musical drama depicts a uniform culture and the cast includes Santeri Kinnunen, Oliver Kollberg, Maria Ylipää, Joel Hirvonen, Vuokko Hovatta, Jouko Klemettilä, Lasse Lipponen, Ella Lymi, Vappu Nalbantoglu, Jari Pehkonen, Ursula Salo, Antti Timonen and Kaisa Torkkel.
The autumn of the Arena stage begins on 2 September with the premiere of the new fast-paced comedy Kotijoukot, written by Niina Lahtinen and Joonas Nordman and directed by Anna Dahlman. Hanna and Matti’s routine relationship gets a new heat when the neighbors sign them up for a relationship camp led by an elite special forces coach. However, the coach is worryingly serious and there was never time for a safety word. The cast includes Niina Lahtinen, Joonas Nordman, Jarkko Pajunen, Emilia Sinisalo, Helena Haaranen, Sanna Saarijärvi and Sauli Suonpää.
On the small stage, Elolliset will premiere on September 3. It is based on Iida Turpeinen’s successful novel of the same name. The play has been dramatized by Pipsa Lonka and it is about how the concept of extinction came about. The audio-visually strong work is directed by Juni Klein and the artistic planning is by the WAUHAUS collective. On stage: Rauno Ahonen, Noora Dadu, Heidi Herala, Sanna-June Hyde, Unto Nuora, Mikko Paloniemi, Justus Pienmunne, Aino Seppo and Alexander Wendelin.
The adventure musical Fretti Mercury etsii onnea for the whole family will premiere at Studio Pasila on 23 September. The profound musical, based on Miika Nousiainen’s and Sanna-Mari Pirkola’s children’s book of the same name, is about the melancholic Fretti Mercury who lures her friend Jänis Virtanen in search of happiness. The work, dramatised by Nousiainen himself, is full of original language games and clever music by composer Marzi Nyman and lyricist Mariska. The musical about friendship is directed by Jukka Nylund and stars Inkeri Hyvönen, Tuomas Korkia-aho, Sari Haapamäki, Sofia Hilli, Juha Jokela, Kai Lähdesmäki, Tiina Peltonen and Inka Tiitinen.
Studio Pasila will also enjoy dancing when Birds of Paradise, created during the summer residence at the Nykyesitysn näyttämö, premieres on 6 August. Choreographer Tiia Kasurinen has created a dance piece that draws inspiration from the mating dances of birds of paradise, show wrestling, love songs and longing. The dancers are Tiia Kasurinen, Kaisu Koittola and Lauri Lohi.
On the Swedish-language stage Lilla Teatern, The Unauthorized will premiere on September 5. It is a play spiced with black humour and sharp contemporary satire. A group of neighbours in Töölö gather to discuss a problem: unauthorised persons have started to move around in the stairwell. This is David Sandqvist’s first directorial assignment as artistic director of Lillan. The cast includes Aksinja Lommi, Mawlawi Rahem, Pia Runnakko, Sampo Sarkola and Joachim Wigelius.
During the autumn season, the warm-hearted comedy Kurtturuusut will continue on the small stage. In addition, the stand-up club Club act!one will continue in studio Pasila. On the Arena stage, Kiviä taskussa will make the audience laugh for the last time, as the season ends in November after 24 years.
Read the new issue of the Teatteriin magazine here.
The first premieres of the autumn at the Helsinki City Theatre
6.8.2026 Birds of Paradise, chor. Tiia Kasurinen
20.8.2026 & Julia, directed by Samuel Harjanne
2.9.2026 Home Troops, directed by Anna Dahlman
3.9.2026 Elolliset, directed by Juni Klein
5.9.2026 The Unauthorized, directed by David Sandqvist
23.9.2026 Ferret Mercury Seeks Happiness, directed by Jukka Nylund
30.9.2026 The Story of the Laughing Vagabond, directed by Paavo Westerberg
Performances that will continue in the repertoire in autumn 2026Kurtturuusut, directed by Miika Muranen
Stones in Your Pocket, directed by Pentti Kotkaniemi
Club act!one
Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service can be reached by phone (09) 394022 Mon–Fri at noon. 10–17. Ticket office on First Line 2, Mon–Fri at noon. 12–17, Djurgårdsvägen 5, Sat (performance days) at noon. 11–18.30 and one hour before the performance and via Lippu.fi, Mon–Sat at noon. 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun at noon. 10–16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local call charge) www.hkt.fi
Pictured in the press release is the performance Kotijoukot. In the photo: Joonas Nordman, Jarkko Pajunen, Emilia Sinisalo and Niina Lahtinen, photo Otto-Ville Väätäinen.
Further information, press tickets and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Head of Communications, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Lilla Teatern, Communications Planner Ida Virkkunen ida.virkkunen@lillateatern.fi, 050 357 4250
Helsinki City Theatre, First Line 2, 00530 Helsinki, www.hkt.fi