Robots, future stars, and a Wild West show on a world tour
The autumn season’s visiting programme reflects human nature fearlessly, and with love.
Espoo City Theatre’s autumn season traditionally features top performing arts talent from Finland and further afield, and this coming season is no exception. Representing various genres, the upcoming shows offer something for everyone.
Visit the “uncanny valley” with Rimini Protokoll
Berlin-based Rimini Protokoll forms one of the most interesting artistic constellations working in Europe today. Their work is celebrated for consistently widening perspectives on reality. In Finland, the group’s work has previously featured on the Helsinki Festival.
In Uncanny Valley, instead of actors on stage, we encounter a robot that closely resembles playwright Thomas Melle. The feeling of the “uncanny valley” aroused by a humanoid robot is palpable in the audience. Simultaneously, the performance affords us a glimpse into a society in which technology is ever more central and fundamental questions about humanity become unavoidable. Performed in English, Finnish voice over available with head phones.
Directed by Stefan Kaegi, the performance, now timelier than ever, has toured worldwide since 2018. Performances in Espoo on August 18-20, 2022.
Katoaminen – passio claims a realm of safety
Kid Kokko, Tari Doris, Meri Ekola, and working group’s performance Disappearing – passion (In Finnish Katoaminen -passio) explores disappearances and continuous change, an open space that is everywhere and nowhere, and yet everywhere. An empowering concert of sound meanders throughout the performance and intertwines with beautiful light and undulating mist. As with other Kokko’s work, the performance gently sinks into our consciousness, mostly in ways that are beyond comprehension. Performed in Finnish, English surtitles via mobile app.
Katoaminen – passio (Disappearing – a passion) in Espoo Cultural Centre’s Louhisali on September 9-10, 2022.
Karpo’s documentaries revisited
In October, recent graduates of Uniart’s Theatre Academy take to the Louhisali stage. Karpo needs a word – true stories from the land of conifers (In Finnish Karpolla on asiaa – tosikertomuksia havumetsien maasta) embodies the honest ethos of Finnish tv journalist Hannu Karpo’s documentaries. Adapted by director Kristian Smeds, the protagonists in the performance are common Finnish folk with their stories, experiences, and destinies. Conflict is neither avoided nor feared, instead it is faced – directly, and with feeling. Performed in Finnish, English surtitles via mobile app.
Theatre Academy and Kotka City Theatre’s co-production in Louhisali on October 4-8, 2022.
Musical theatre spectacular Burt Turrido: An Opera – at last!
Originally programmed for autumn 2021, Nature Theatre of Oklahoma’s Burt Turrido: An Opera is finally here. The award-winning New York-based group combine opera, dance, and theatre to create something completely new and totally fresh. Renowned for their idiosyncratic and off-centre humour, the group pull out all the stops.
Burt Turrido is the group’s first operatic work. The show’s title must not mislead us – this here is a musical theatre extravaganza, the mother of all non-operas, and something previously never encountered in Finland. The performance is a spectacular Wild West show that draws from familiar operatic clichés. Performed in English with Finnish surtitles projected on the stage.
Performances Nov 11-13, 2022, in Espoo Cultural Centre’s Louhisali.
Fact and fiction about acting and role play
Season’s final visitors are Oulu Theatre with En päässyt Juliaksi (Never Julia). Directed by Alma Lehmuskallio, the performance is about letting go and second chances, and about the need to make connections. In this enchanting play, fact and fiction are joyfully mixed as veteran actor Tuula Väänänen is about to retire and young actor Pyry Äikää prepares for his first lead role. The senior actor’s memories, dreams, and pain intermingle with the younger one’s search for a leading man’s voice, and with his dreams and pain. Performed in Finnish, English surtitles via mobile app.
Performances on December 13-14, 2022, in Espoo Cultural Centre’s Louhisali.