& Espoo Theatre is Theatre of the Year 2025: “The heart and sharp-minded conscience of society”
The Theatre of the Year 2025 award, presented by the Finnish Theatre Association, has been awarded to & Espoo Theatre, a bold and international meeting place of performing arts. The award was presented at the performing arts field’s Thalia Gala on 24 March 2025. & Espoo Theatre makes history by being the first theatre to receive Theatre of the Year for the second time.
“The Theatre of the Year award is a significant acknowledgement, because it is given to the group as a whole. Recent years may have been difficult for us, but we have persistently wanted to change theatre and take risks,” says Matilda von Weissenberg, CEO of & Espoo Theatre.
The winner was picked from the finalist group by documentarist and journalist Sean Ricks.
"& Espoo Theatre is exactly what it claims to be: The most international theatre in Finland. Its activities, structure and programme have been a daring challenge to what theatre can be. It showcases bold and challenging works from around the world and also shows Finnish theatre and creators to the world. It wears the hat of a social commentator without hesitation and through its actions, it promotes what theatre and art in general should be: the heart and sharp-minded conscience of society,” Ricks explains.
& Espoo Theatre is the first theatre in the history of the award to receive the award for a second time: Espoo City Theatre was selected as the Theatre of the Year in 2011 as well. The programme of & Espoo Theatre features approximately 20 different performances each year. The theatre engages in proactive and extensive cooperation in the field of culture and is known as a meeting place and an advocate of a pluralistic society.
Its artistic director, Jussi Sorjanen, promises that the theatre will remain as uncompromising in the future.
“We will continue to become more international, make bold programme choices, engage in open dialogue with the public and continue our efforts to change the understanding of theatre and its opportunities.”