Wasa theatre (Wasa Teater) is a professional
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
-language theatre in the
Finnish city of
Vaasa. It is the regional theatre of
Österbotten and was founded in 1919.
History
The current theatre building was completed in 1955 and was designed by architects Bertel Liljequist and Sam Salvesen. The old building, which was completely destroyed in 1953, was built in 1868 after drawings by
Carl Axel Setterberg. The theatre was renovated in 1997-1998. Its large stage has seats for 272 people, studio for 80-120 people and Vasallen scene for 62 people. It has approximately 45,000 visitors and 6-7 premiers per year.
Wasa theatre tries to have a versatile repertoire as possible to suit all ages, including classical and contemporary drama, musicals, family poems, children's and youth play. In addition to performances, the theatre has extensive tour activities in the Swedish language. With the local schools, writers' societies and volunteers co-operation, Wasa theatre plays an important cultural role in Finland.
Events
The musical ''
Next to Normal'' went on stage in 2012 directed by Victoria Brattström with the cast of Johan Aspelin,
Samuel Harjanne
Samuel Harjanne (born December 22, 1987) is a director originally from Finland. He is currently living in Denmark. Before his career as a director, he performed voice-dubbing roles in the Finnish language for foreign media, including major c ...
, Markus Lytts, Mikaela Tidermark, Sören Lillkung and
Anna-Maria Hallgarn
Anna-Maria Hallgarn, (born 10 February 1971 in Orrviken, Jämtland) is a Swedish musician, singer and actress. She received acting training at Balettakademien’s programme for musical artists in Gothenburg.
Her performances include Kharmen at G ...
as the main characters. The show is about a family that looks set to be normal and happy, but in reality, it is struggling with big problems. The musical had a premiere in New York in 2008, became very popular, and has been shown around the world. This was the second time it was performed in Swedish; it had already been shown in Finnish in Helsinki.
''
Ingvar!'' premiered in September 2017, directed by Markus Virta, composed by Erik Gedeon, with lyrics by Klas Abrahamsson.
The main characters were played by Anna-Maria Hallgarn, Erik-André Hvidsten, Johan Aspelin, Saara Lehtonen, Thomas Lundin, Richard Mitts, Tove Qvickström and Maria Udd. The musical was loosely based on the biography of
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
founder
Ingvar Kamprad.
References
External links
Wasa theatre Österbotten regional theatre official website
{{Authority control
Theatres in Finland