Theater Finnish theater has curled up in a birdhouse, says theater director Erik Söderblom – Espoo City Theater increases internationality with its own performance channel

When the theater have once again had to cancel their screenings for January, digital screenings are once again the only way to experience theater.

At the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, the Espoo City Theater started to come up with a digital channel through which the theater could be experienced even further.

Theater Director Erik Söderblom said at the time he believed that streaming performances could be much more common in the future than in the past.

Last November, a new EspooTeatteriPlus channel was opened in Espoo, which publishes monthly performances from around the world, recordings of its own performances and, for example, author interviews and other in-depth material.

“This has been a matter of the heart for me, because the situation in Finland with regard to international visits is so unhappy. Here we are curled up in an imaginary birdhouse around the corner, ”says Erik Söderblom and compares the situation to the band field.

“Then the situation is revealed: what if a few small bands come here every year to one or two places. This is the situation for the theater. ”

It has not been possible to import large international productions because there is not a large enough venue, says Söderblom.

“At least not until the new theater building in Espoo is completed. It should be ready by 2026 or 27. ”

Espoo’s new theater channel the paid software is presented in cooperation with the Keikalla.fi service. Tickets can be purchased at Lippupiste.

Your own digital performance channel is not only intended as a substitute for live theater, says theater curator Julia Pajunen.

“We want to strengthen our position as Finland’s international theater. All the performances selected for the channel are of theatrical historical significance and have influenced the notion of what theater can be. We offer a pre-selected program with subtitles in Finnish and English for those interested in the performing arts. ”

Still this week, until Sunday, January 16, the service will be available for viewing Jonathan Swiftin political satire Gulliver’s excursions Romanian theater maker Silviu Purcăreten guided. There is an Irishman in a performance on people over the age of 16 looking at today’s way of life Shaun Daveyn music composed by.

A collective work by the French Théâtre du Soleil was shown on Monday 10 January Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (“Fol Espoir Shipwrecked”).

One of the founders of the Théâtre du Soleil Ariane Mnouchkinen the work directed by is a theatrical film whose script is Jules Vernen inspired in part by the novel, the philosopher and author Hélène Cixous. The show is open until February 6th.

“These are different experiences than watching news, online entertainment or pay-TV series. Not smaller, it’s a different matter, ”says Söderblom.

“People who go to the theater are familiar with the theatrical nature, the feeling of closeness, the presence of handicrafts, the transcendence of realism. Theater is a story that has gone through the human mind, a three-dimensional representation. It can also be passed on through video. ”

Later in the spring A Swiss theater maker, among others, is coming to the canal of the Espoo City Theater Milo Raun Lam Gods, a stage work inspired by Van Eyckin from the altar painting of Ghent painted by the brothers in the 15th century.

Unfortunately, viewers have not yet discovered a new way to experience theater, Söderblom says. However, he is not discouraged.

“The field of art is the development department of society, it has to be a testing ground for prototypes. Nor will the company’s development department be shut down if any prototype fails. It is important to make openings, to try, to move forward. ”

Lam Gods is a stage work directed by Milo Rau and inspired by the famous Ghent altarpiece. Picture: Internationaal Theater Amsterdam