Robert Neil Hardwick (born 22 July 1948 in

Teversal Teversal is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, west of Mansfield, close to Sutton-in-Ashfield and the boundary with Derbyshire. Former names include ''Tevershalt'', ''Teversholt'', ''Tyversholtee'', ''Teve ...

Sutton-in-Ashfield Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshire border and 12 miles nort ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-born

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and TV director and writer. He was raised in Teversal, near

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

. His father was a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, and Neil Hardwick has described himself as "a second generation non-miner".

Biography

At age 11, Hardwick was admitted to

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

with a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. Already in his school years, Neil wrote, directed and often starred in many of his own plays. At age 18, he was drafted to work in the UK

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

commission. Additional studies at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

, led to a change in profession. There he found

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and the world of theatre at a new level. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, Hardwick moved to Finland in 1969. He started his career as the voice of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

school tapes of Finnish primary and high schools in the middle 1970s, and to the children of the 1960s and 1970s he became famous as the

policeman A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

of the children's language program ''Hello Hello Hello'' (1975). Hardwick's reputation as a Finnish director and keen-eyed depictor of the Finnish lifestyle stems from the

YLE Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

TV2

comedy series Television comedy is a category of broadcasting that has been present since the early days of entertainment media. While there are several genres of comedy, some of the first ones aired were variety shows. One of the first Television in the United ...

Tankki täyteen ''Tankki täyteen'' (literal translation "Filling the Tank") is a Finnish sitcom television series produced by Yle. The series was written by Neil Hardwick and Jussi Tuominen and was directed by Esko Leimu together with Neil Hardwick. It was one o ...

'' and ''Reinikainen''. In ''Reinikainen'', the protagonist is an elderly single policeman from the countryside, who is transferred to a city, where his verbal skill, cunning and nonchalant attitude often defuses dramatic situations and saves the day. His most artistically ambitious work is the TV series ''Pakanamaan kartta'', dealing with total short term memory loss and

ecoterrorism Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmentalism, environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened ...

. Hardwick has directed several

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

s and

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

shorts, but is at his best as a depictor of the pathetically humorous daily life of the small man. He has also patiently acted as a bridge builder between the Finnish and English cultures, brought plays to Finland, and explained the Finnish lifestyle in British TV programs. He has repeatedly voiced his exasperation with the Finnish

nanny state Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term likens such a government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing. An early ...

mentality, but has also said that Finland is the only country where he "is someone". Hardwick is one of the few well-known immigrants to Finland who have learned the Finnish language fluently. His liberal views on immigration brought him into the negative attention of the late

Helsingin Sanomat ''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of ...

caricaturist

Kari Suomalainen Kari Yrjänä Suomalainen (15 October 1920, in Helsinki – 10 August 1999, in Valkeakoski) was Finland's most famous political cartoonist, known as Kari. His cartoons appeared daily in ''Helsingin Sanomat'' from 1951 to 1991 and they became po ...

, whose nativist and anti-immigrations views were at odds with Hardwick. During 1995 Hardwick served as Professor of Cinematic Arts in the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute o ...

. The voice of his son, Sam Hardwick, can be heard in a number of

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...

songs Once Upon a Nightwish

''

Google books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

'', 2008. Retrieved on 2012-05-25.

TV series and programs

* ''Hello hello hello'' 1975 (children's English language course; writer and actor) * ''Kielipuoli potilas'' 1978 (comedy series; writer and director) * ''

'' 1978–1980 (comedy series; writer and director) * ''Parempi myöhään'' 1979–1980 (entertainment series; sketch writer) * ''Ollaan kuin kotonanne'' 1981–1982 (entertainment series; sketch writer) * ''Reinikainen'' 1982–1983 (comedy series; writer and director, a role in the last episode) * ''Saippuakauppias'' 1984 (palindromic comedy, writer and director) * ''Sisko ja sen veli'' 1986 (dark comedy series; writer and director) * ''Musta tuntuu'' 1985 (crime series; writer and director) * ''Niilin lähteillä'' 1987 (autobiographical series; writer) * ''Kieli poskessa'' 1987 (a documentary road movie shot in England, searching for the perfect pint and the meaning of life) * ''Hardwick'' 1988–1989 (live talk show) * ''Nyhjää tyhjästä'' 1991 (improvisation show from Ryhmäteatteri; host and director) * ''Pakanamaan kartta'' 1991 (drama series; writer and director) * ''Paluu Timbuktuun'' (travel series; host) * ''Napaseutu'' 1994 (comedy series; co-writer with Raila Leppäkoski and director) * ''Huomenta, Ilona, hyvästi'' 1996 (director) * ''

Hyvät, pahat ja rumat ''Hyvät, pahat ja rumat'' (English: ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'') was a popular 1990s Finnish comedy chat show presented on MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audie ...

'' 1997 (live talkshow; co-host with Pauli Aalto-Setälä) * ''Verisiskot'' 1997 (comedy series;director) * Troubleshooter 2001 (comedy series with magic; director) * ''Muisti palaa pohjaan'' 2004 (Finnish food memories; host) * "Alright?Alright!" 2005 (English teaching comedy series; writer and director)

Theatre directions

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of ''The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier f ...

(Finnish), Tampereen teatteri 1983 * Waiting for Godot (Finnish) Tampereen teatteri 1984 * What the Butler Saw (Finnish), Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 1985 * Noises Off (Finnish), Suomen Teatterikorkeakoulu 1986 * Rumors (Swedish) Lilla teatern 1991 * Nyhjää tyhjästä(Finnish impro) Ryhmäteatteri 1991 * Rumors (Finnish) Lilla teatern 1992 * Other People's Money (Swedish and Finnish) Lilla teatern 1992 * Me And My Girl (musical, Swedish) Svenska teatern 1996 * Out of Order (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2000 * Out of Order (Finnish) Tampereen työväenteatteri 2000 * Stepping Out (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri, 2000 *

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

(opera, Finnish) Seinäjoen kaupunginteatteri 2000 *

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

(Finnish), Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2001 *

(Finnish), Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2002 *

(Finnish) Tampereen työväenteatteri 2003 * Fantasticks (musical, Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri, 2003 * Mulle kaikki heti (revue, Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2004 * Quartet (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2004 * Pohjanmaan kautta (opera, Finnish) Ilmajoen musiikkijuhlat 2004 * Perfect Days (Finnish) Tampereen työväenteatteri 2005 *

Hitchcock Blonde ''Hitchcock Blonde'' is a play by British playwright Terry Johnson which debuted in April 2003 in London and later moved to London's West End. It was also staged in the United States. Plot The play takes place in three time periods: 1919, when ...

(Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2005 * Leading ladies (Finnish), Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2005 * The Sheep Eaters (Finnish) Pyynikin kesäteatteri 2006 * Glorious! (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2006 *

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

(Swedish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri/Lilla teatern 2007 * The Producers (musical, Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2007 *

(Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri/Lilla teatern 2007 * Rumors (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2008 * Spring Awakening (musical, Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2009 * Magic! (magic show) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri/Lilla teatern 2009 * Arsenic and Old Lace, Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2010 * Molière:

The Miser ''The Miser'' (french: L'Avare; ; also known by the longer name ''L'Avare ou L'École du Mensonge,'' meaning The Miser, or the School for Lies) is a five-act comedy in prose by the French playwright Molière. It was first performed on September 9 ...

(Swedish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri/Lilla Teatern 2011 * La Cage aux Folles (musical, Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri/Arena-näyttämö 2011 * Striking 12 (musical, Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2011 * One Man, Two Guvnors (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2012 * Hotel Paradiso (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2013 * The Ladykillers (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2014 * ''Two into One'' (Finnish) Helsingin kaupunginteatteri 2015

Film

Jos rakastat (Finnish musical, 2010)

Bibliography

* Hardwick's sauce eli Neilin tähteet: pakinoita. Tammi, 1988 (

causerie Causerie (from French, "talk, chat") is a literary style of short informal essays mostly unknown in the English-speaking world. A causerie is generally short, light and humorous and is often published as a newspaper column (although it is not defin ...

, in Finnish and English on each opposite page) * Paluu Timbuktuun: mitä todella tapahtui. Otava, 1996 * Hullun lailla. Otava, 1999

References

* Teatteriin 3/2006, page 7

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Neil 1948 births Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Finnish dramatists and playwrights English emigrants to Finland People from Sutton-in-Ashfield Living people