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This year's festival includes a new take
on James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake.
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The Baltic Circle theatre festival is a welcome addition to the Helsinki theatre scene, showcasing an international lineup and a few novel surprises.
The baltic circle international theatre festival takes place in Helsinki this week. Filled with varying performances from theatre and dance to seminars and clubs, the festival creates a unique possibility for Helsinki audiences and professional theatre producers to experience and take part in the special event.
Independent theatre groups in Finland founded the project in 1996 and this year’s festival is the sixth one to be held. It consists of professional theatre groups from the Baltic countries and beyond, creating a possibility for international networking while entertaining audiences with new and interesting performances.
“We plan to start expanding outside the Baltic countries more and more, and this year we are introducing an exceptional group from Brazil,” explains festival director Eva Neklyaeva. The Brazilian Ueinzz Theater Group consists of mental-health patients, professional actors and philosophers, performing a variation of Finnegan's Wake, by James Joyce. “This kind of performance doesn’t arrive in Helsinki every week, it is really something completely unique,” says Neklyeva.
This time round the festival sees some more new ideas brought to life. “We are introducing quite a few new things this year, for example the Lounge, which is open during the whole festival. It is a place where people can meet artists, enjoy free performances or just hang out. Also, we have created an event called Dinner in the Dark, which is something that has never taken place in Helsinki before,” she adds enthusiasticall
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Baltic Circle
Until 22 Nov
Tickets €0-65
www.lippupalvelu.fi
www.q-teatteri.fi
/baltic_circle
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Dinner in the Dark is an event where the diners will literally have dinner in complete darkness, accompanied only by a sound performance. “The waitresses have been given technical aids too see in the dark, but they don’t show a 3D image so it’ll still be very hard for them. I’m sure everything will go well, though it will be quite an experience,” Neklyeva confesses, with a laugh.
The main site for the festival is the independent theatre Q-teatteri, but performances take place in varying venues across the city. Filled with performances, Baltic Circle is a welcome addition to the theatre scene of Helsinki and certainly offers something for everyone. Many performances are subtitled or performed in English.
Petra Nyman - HT
Lehtikuva - Luciane Torres |
