ESPOO MAGAZINE 3/2018

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SWEDISH IN ESPOO City Theatre’s Erik Söderblom aims to ESTABLISH ESPOO AS A CULTURAL CENTRE “Of all the theatres in the Capital Region, Espoo City Theatre is the best placed to rise to today’s challenges,” says Erik Söderblom, who was appointed the theatre’s Artistic Director a year ago. The new space that the City Theatre will eventually occupy will enable Espoo to become a unique cultural city, capable of hosting the kind of major international productions that currently pass Finland by. 20
”CULTURE AND THE ECONOMIC SECTOR NEED EACH OTHER.” Espoo City Theatre markets itself as the country’s international stage – ‘The International Theatre of Finland’. The theatre’s programme is based on both domestic and international guest performances, alongside its own productions. Sweden and Estonia are close partners in terms of guest performances. The City Theatre does not have a permanent ensemble of its own, but engages artists on a project basis, which allows for flexibility in planning. “Finland is becoming increasingly international; in the Capital Region there are now more people who communicate in English than there TIMO PORTHAN are people living in Turku. Espoo is now practically a trilingual area,” says Söderblom. “Until now, English speakers have not had their own theatre scene. From autumn, all of our performances in Finnish will be translated and subtitled in English. Foreign guest performances that are subtitled in Finnish will in future be subtitled in both Finnish and English.” “INTERNATIONALLY, the entire theatre scene is undergoing major changes, with the blending of different art forms. Dramatic theatre is being combined with physical performance, music, circus and dance. New technology is giving virtual reality a larger role,” says Söderblom. “Such performances are limited by the space available. In the Capital Region, there is not a single stage that is large enough to accommodate major international productions – the nearest are in Tallinn and Stockholm. Helsinki’s large theatres and Opera House have set repertoires and are unable to host guest performances.” “Espoo has every opportunity to be a pioneer in this field. The arts need a focal point and the city has chosen to concentrate its cultural offering in Tapiola, with the EMMA museum of modern art and Espoo Cultural Centre, which plays host to the Tapiola Sinfonietta and Espoo City Theatre.” THE CITY THEATRE stages its own productions at Revontuli Hall, while guest performances are held at Louhi Hall in the Cultural Centre. In a few years, the Cultural Centre will undergo extensive renovation and expansion. When it reopens in 2025, the City Theatre will not only have Louhi Hall, but also its own large hall, which will replace Revontuli Hall. According to Söderblom, the performance areas in Revontuli Hall are acceptable, but the building was not constructed for theatrical use and the audience areas in particular could be better. The new hall will have up to 700 seats and is tailored to the City Theatre’s needs. “The construction project provides a unique opportunity. We have been in dialogue with the city’s building department since last autumn with regard to the design of the theatre. A theatre is part building, part business – like a musical instrument: it’s not enough to construct a violin, you also have to make it play a tune.” In June, five groups were announced to go forward in an architectural competition for the new Cultural Centre. The winning proposal will be decided in early 2019. “If everything works out, Espoo will be very different to how it is today: a centre for a particular type of culture in Finland. Culture and the economic sector need each other,” says Söderblom. THE REPERTOIRE at Espoo City Theatre this autumn contains a couple of guest performances of particular note. The 200th anniversary of the birth of Zachris Topelius is celebrated on 5 November in the musical drama ‘Snow King and the Black Madonna’ – a production by the Seinäjoki Opera Association and Seinäjoki City Orchestra. “It is a kind of scenic oratorio based on Topelius’s own texts, written and performed in Finnish, Swedish, German and Latin. The performance is subtitled in Finnish and Swedish.” In November, there are three performances of the co-production ‘All The Sex I’ve Ever Had’, which is presented by Canadian group Mammalian Diving Reflex. On stage, ordinary Finnish senior citizens tell all about their sex lives and romantic affairs. “Anyone aged 65 or over can register to join the production,” encourages Söderblom. HARRIET ÖSTER ESPOO MAGAZINE 3/2018 >> 21
Page 1 and 2: A MAGAZINE FOR ESPOO RESIDENTS 3 20
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS 3/2018 A MAGAZINE FOR ESPO
Page 5 and 6: PICKS 2025 The United Nations has i
Page 7 and 8: AT YOUR SERVICE A COMPLETE SYMPHONY
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Page 11 and 12: HUMAN ENCOUNTERS ARE AT THE CORE OF
Page 13 and 14: › FROM THE TRENCHES TO MURHAMÄKI
Page 15 and 16: INSIGHT Espoo is a safe place to mo
Page 17 and 18: CULTURE CENTRE PIKKU-AURORA 3/2018
Page 19: Don’t miss these attractions: SEE
Page 23 and 24: “I READ A COUPLE OF BOOKS A MONTH

ESPOO MAGAZINE 3/2018

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