Moomins at the theatre story series continues with the fourth play – Helsinki City Theatre’s Muumit kulisseissa from 2002. Have you read also the previous posts about the plays Mumintrollet och kometen and Troll i kulisserna as well as the Moomin Opera? Each play is presented more closely at the Moomins at the theatre exhibition at the Theatre Museum in Helsinki. The lovely exhibition is open until summer 2017.
Muumit kulisseissa
Moomin-themed plays, puppet plays, and operas have been performed in Finnish professional theatres almost 50 times after the Swedish Theatre’s first Moomin play in 1949. Although Tove Jansson herself was not involved in all productions, performances have continued the tradition she started.
Muumit kulisseissa (freely translated Moomins behind the scenes) was staged at the Helsinki City Theatre and translated from the Lilla Teatern’s play Troll i kulisserna. The Swedish-language text was skillfully translated by Kirsi Kunnas, a famous Finnish poet and children’s literature author.
Helsinki City Theatre’s Muumit kulisseissa was directed by Birgitta Ulfsson, who worked both at the Swedish Theatre and Lilla Teatern. The direction by Ulfsson was praised especially because of the state of knowledge of the Moomin: “She knows exactly how these characters behave and who they essentially are”. (Rolf Bamberg, Uutispäivä Demari 5.3.2002)
Famous Finnish actor, Santeri Kinnunen, played Moomintroll. Critics thought he truly captured the Moomintroll’s essence. “Kinnunen tiptoes with soft Moominous steps and thrills with his melancholy essence”, says Pirjo Puukko, Hämeen Sanomat 14.3.2002.
Birgitta Ulfsson thinks that the best stories appeal to all ages. Children and adults perhaps understood the play differently, but it was also the director’s intention.
Costumes by Eila Jäntti
Text: Theatre Museum
Photos:
Booklet: Theatre museum’s archive
Costumes: © Moomin Characters™
Find out more about the play Muumit kulisseissa and other Moomin theatre works at the exhibition Moomins at the theatre.
Read also:
- Moomins at the theatre: Finnish National Opera 1974 – Moomin opera
- Moomins at the theatre: Lilla Teatern 1958 – Troll i kulisserna
- Moomins at the theatre: Swedish Theatre 1949 – Mumintrollet och kometen
- “Moomins at the theatre” exhibition now open in Helsinki
- “Moomins at the theatre” exhibition – conservation of the costumes
- Archive treasures: Moomins on the beach