Anyhow! For all of you and everybody else too we are now more than proud to present: Mental Finland; the last Brussels performance (in 2009!) just in 40 seconds. Now also available in full HD glory, whateverthatmeansnowihavetogopée.
Anyhow! For all of you and everybody else too we are now more than proud to present: Mental Finland; the last Brussels performance (in 2009!) just in 40 seconds. Now also available in full HD glory, whateverthatmeansnowihavetogopée.

Quite lot of attention from media and concerned taxpayers has been on the budget of our mental finnish brand shining jorney. Fear not! Yours truly will now put some light on the hot subject.
So why is it that all this cost over half million euros? Is it all the special effects and stunts? Are we eating some special expensive bananas? Are we now super rich? Answer for all this is unfortunately no. Simply put: we have employed almost 20 freelancers (actors, dancers, designers .etc) for about 5 moths, full time, full salary. So there you have it. Most of the money spent! Then add travel for 11 people from Finland to Brussels and back for 2 times plus accommodation. We have created jobs for finnish and international artists, and their salaries will soon return back to the capital flow via heavy personal consumption (nahkatakki, anyone?).
Is this really the most expensive stage production in Finland, ever? No it is not. It is big and expensive, yes, especially for an “outlaw” independent production, but depending how you calculate it any major production on National theatre or Helsinki city theatre mains stages easily exceed this sum.
…And for the concerned Finnish taxpayers: Finnish part of the budget is most kindly primarily funded from Suomen Kulttuurirahasto and Aflred Kordelin foundation - two private foundations mostly handing out profit from Nokia stocks, and OPM, ministry of education, which gives out earnings from the national lottery. On top of that comes a sum from City of Helsinki and co-production from the Finnish national theatre, both of them indeed do get their money mostly of your back skin. But that’s just about 10% of the total budget. There. Kiss kiss puss puss and thanks for everybody one more time.
Additional comment on the subject by mr. Smeds himself
Arrrrgh been lazy bloggers as all the champagne and positive press has made us proud and dizzy. But here we go again.
We, the real artists, aren’t really so much into the press reactions, as our ultimate and only motivation to create work is to praise and please our noodly goodness, the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

BUT for those of you who are - we spare some googlin’ trouble by choosing the nicest random cherries from the top. Thank you very many!
Suomeksi - in Finnish
http://www.turunsanomat.fi/kulttuuri/?ts=1,3:1005:0:0,4:5:0:1:2009-02-14,104:5:593440,1:0:0:0:0:0:
http://www.uusisuomi.fi/kulttuuri/50165-arvio-mental-finland
In not so important misc languages:
http://www.expatica.com/be/lifestyle_leisure/arts_culture/Just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe-to-go-back-into-the-sauna_13622.html
http://www.lalibre.be/culture/scenes/article/481657/les-derniers-gaulois-sont-finlandais.html
http://www.lesoir.be/culture/scenes/scenes-mental-finland-au-kvs-2009-02-10-689582.shtml
If you are here to find out, what is this Mental Finland and mr. Kristan Smeds really about, I recommend starting from this good article by Ivo Kuyl.
Jos koetat juurikin saada selville mistä Mental Finlandissa on oikein kysymys ja mitä Smeds oikein keilailee, suosittelemme lukemaan tämän Janne Saarakkalan artikkelin. Lisäksi Suomen Kuvalehden juttu viime kesältä “Smedsin teesit” ladattavissa tästä .PDF -muodossa. Ei muuta tänään, moi!
Kuvassa DJ Kekkonen - Pictured here: DJ Kekkonen

A full house featuring a debut by Dj Kekkonen! Thank you very many everyone, it has been very super nice journey. Eiku lissää paskaa housuun!
The last rehearsal, last try out, last aftermath, last supper… all went according to plan yesterday: technically high class stuff but pretty low on energy. Mental Finns are simply done with the rehearsal process. And saving all their adrenalin for today’s Big Bang Broadcast. Stay tuned!



The KVS photographer Bart Grietens came to see the try outs last weekend and fell in love with the show. He also captured very well the blue relief we’re all feeling being so close to the goal.
Eleonore aka Leo aka Leksa underwater with Domenico

Lexa being carried by Milton, Dome, Laura and Ana

In a Meet the Artist event that was recently held at the Finnish Seaman’s Church we finally found the answer: “Mental Finland is a dark or black, but very humoristic comedy or tragedy”. Any further questions?? Resumee of the event is available here in Finnish.
Counterphotographing continues, we took a picture of our Meet the Artist audience:

…and in this occasion also an enormous KIITOS to the Finnish community of Brussels, specially to all the wonderful people at the Benelux Institute, the Finnish Embassy and the Seaman’s Church (who would still let us use their sauna department… hmmm, we’ve exceptionally been behaving well). Thank you so incredibly many!!
This weekend brought along the try outs - first real and not only mental audience contact. Nice calmness mixed with concentrated excitement all over… We’re almost there!
The container can always be repainted just a little

Jurate and our dresser Nicole getting everything ready in the KVS costume atelier

Tommi and HP were so relaxed they decided to put up a flee-market on backstage just before the show

To be on the safe side we also forbid animal feeding during the try outs

“Theatre as a public sauna” - Interview of Kristian (in front) by KVS dramaturg Ivo Kuyl

This text was originally carried out in Dutch for Etcetera, the Magazine for Performing Arts, nr. 115, february 2009:
www.e-tcetera.be
Ivo Kuyl
Theatre as a public sauna
An interview with Finnish theatre maker Kristian Smeds
The theatre of Kristian Smeds is strongly embedded in society. It reveals hidden realities and is striking due to its especially powerful and energetic style. He usually writes his pieces himself or radically revises existing texts. He has received just about all the recognition a theatre maker in Finland can, especially since his most recent production Tuntematon Sotilas (Unknown Soldiers). He just founded the Smeds Ensemble, a small nomadic company that is open to international collaboration and that aims to travel in Finland as well as other countries.
(more…)
I think we were very succesful in confusing the local journalists in our mental press event last Tuesday.

some more counter photography - they are always photographing us, now we revenge!
Here a link to TV brussels TV spot about Mental Finland - works with varying result

… and as a plus pic of HP as he is such a funny guy

Kristian and Jean are hiding something behind the curtain…

…the last run thru without audience! A slight but nice tension at the KVS on Wednesday night. Still some technical problems to be solved and a couple of interesting question marks hanging in the air. The process continues, hasta la victoria siempre!

So what do you think, is this a party in Mental Neverneverland, one of the many demonstrations in Brussels or perhaps love at first sight?

…whatever the scene is about, HP for sure knows how to show his emotions:

edit: This what happened in the end - HP someone went mental and biguru was lost!

A big production like Mental Finland requires a lot from everybody. With some real Finnish sisu, we’ve already managed to strech our dancers beyond their normal length.


Some time in the afternoon Herr Director went totally Mental Bananas and decided to do all the parts him self. Here you can see his erotic new art shit mental riverdance. Roger and out.
Smeds Ensemble on Vimeo.
Our Tommi “sexmachina” Korpela (pictured here in his underwear) is now called Jussi. Or something. I really could not concentrate reading the news properly as I had to go peepee. Anyways now I have to go again. Did not mean to write that… Im off! 50/60

The absolutely fabulous Bridge bar on the corner of the KVS has probably doubled its income since we came. A perfect place for having a nice cold cushbur after the rehearsals, but also for freaking out in a true Mental Finland Saturday Night Fever style. Kiitos ja anteeks, we’ll be back!
First tango in Brussels

Poetry girls Ana & Eva
…and Tarja

Hassisen Kone was yesterday, today the Thing is Nummisen Kone!
