Festival of English Language Theatre

[Susan Fourtane]

Thespians Anonymous and The Really Small Theatre Company join the Finn-Brit Players in staging nine short plays by local writing talent, as well as by classic and contemporary authors from around the world.

THE FESTIVAL, organised this year for the third time by The Finn-Brit Players, will bring together three English language theatre companies to Helsinki.

“The Festival has previously been organised twice, in 2003 and 2004, clearly it is quite sporadic but it’s always been a success that may become a more regular event in the future,” explains Matti Keltanen, one of the producers.

Theatre lovers will have the opportunity to see original material by local writers; the Finn-Brit Players will produce Zoë Chandler's Plastic Soup, an environmental comedy, and Oana Velcu's Finders Keepers, a comedy with an insight of the soul of modern times among other productions.

A variety of plays by international contemporary writers like Bernard Show and Anton Chekhov is also on offer at the festival.

About the companies

The Finn-Brit Players is a Helsinki-based amateur drama society whose origins date back to the early 50s. Since becoming active again in 1981, the company has staged over 30 productions.

The Really Small Theatre Company was formed in Helsinki in 2005 to mount plays with tiny casts and minimal fuss. The cast are also the crew.

Thespians Anonymous is an amateur, non-profit, multicultural, English language theatre group affiliated with the University of Helsinki.

Reaching people interested in theatre in a foreign language to the country can be tough work. “Without the budget to straight up buy mass attention, it takes a lot of legwork. Naturally we're quite close to many English speaking communities who are hungry for cultural activities,” says Keltanen.

From an actor's point of view

“The festival is a great thing to be a part of. There's this entire buzz around you for months as you rehearse, and it turns out that being a part of something like this is a bigger deal than the spotlight shining on you for an hour. No one gets paid, so it's heartening to see people pour all this effort and time that it takes to stage an event like this,”concludes Keltanen.

The festival is a unique opportunity for theatre lovers to enjoy a weekend close to the stage, expressing their support and need for more frequent productions in English.

SUSAN FOURTANE