The project, which started in 2012, has faced many setbacks, but now there is light at the end of the tunnel. We still have to wait a year for the renovation to be completed.
Suomen Kansallisteatteri is celebrating the groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of the small stage and the middle section. The renovation will be completed in November 2023.
The renovation will produce, among other things, two theater stages with stands, technical facilities, and training and cafeteria facilities.
Yle was present at the event organized at the sprawling construction site at the National Theatre. By clicking on the main picture of this article, you can see how the premises currently undergoing renovation look like.
Problems overshadowed the project
The project, which started in 2012, has had its bumps along the way.
Financing was struggled with for the first eight years and practically the whole way, while an appeal to the administrative court in 2020, which was later rejected, delayed the project by more than a year.
With the uncertainty caused by the appeal, the plans were drastically changed. The intention was to demolish the intermediate part of the theater built in the 1930s, but in the end it was decided to fundamentally improve the interior of the building.
The CEO says that the project has been long and difficult.
– In the 1930s building, which is now being saved, many hopes have been given up. It took up 3,000 square meters of space. That’s an awful lot. A year from now, we will know more about what was lost.
Despite the compromises, Myllyaho is of the opinion that once the renovation is completed, there will be an even better offer for both the public and the employees. New for visitors are, among other things, the new Taivassali opening upstairs and a cafe with a view of the park. For its employees, Myllyaho promises better working conditions throughout.
– In general, there is air in the training rooms. Before, you had to open the windows to get air, if you could even open them. Here we came from the 1950s to modern times.
With the reform, occupational safety issues are also making strides.
\”It has been noticed from the sound that not everything has been in good condition\”
– Yes, there have been clear shortcomings here. Time has passed, Tuominen states.
Tuominen has noticed that the building, which is 150 years old in its oldest parts, has influenced the practical work of the actors.
– Even health stuff – what kind of air is there, and what poisons are floating around there. You can already tell from the sound that everything has not been in order. The ancient dust that cannot be removed by cleaning, as a sound worker you will notice it.
The audience and the Actors met when they shouldn’t have
In connection with the overhaul, surfaces and technology, among other things, have been completely renewed. Asbestos has been removed, that was there too.
Regarding the small stage, the problem in the past has been, among other things, the lack of staff facilities, Timo Tuominen states.
– The stage itself has been nice and the relationship with the audience has been nice, but we’ve been in storage if we haven’t been on stage. There have been no concentration areas, no dressing areas, and no areas where you could, for example, warm up or open your voice.
Before the renovation, there were situations where the audience and the cast met when they shouldn’t have.
– The audience occasionally passed through the premises when the Actors were jumping there on their sledgehammers. It wasn’t nice for anyone, Tuominen smiles.
A wonderful view of Helsinki opens up from the new stage
After the renovation, the National Theater has three stages on top of each other. The spaces are acoustically designed in such a way that performances can be held in them at the same time.
Actor Timo Tuominen is already waiting for the opening of the new Taivassal, which will be built on the top floor.
– Actually, I can only dream about it. I know the windows that have been there in the workshop. It offers an incredibly beautiful view of Helsinki in the evening or at night. It can probably be used in performances as well.
– It will be wonderful.