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Oulu theatre sets new ticket sales record a third consecutive year in a row 

Oulu theatre is continuing its third succesful year. The theatre has set a new ticket sales record for the third consecutive year in a row.

According to recent statistics, a total of 80,164 spectators visited the theatre in 2025, and the overall occupancy rate of performances was 84%. The increase in the occupancy rate of performances was a significant 10% compared to the previous year, when the occupancy rate was 74%. The theatre’s turnover in 2025 was 3,398,834 euros, an increase of 19% from the previous year.

Oulu theatre’s popularity has remained high and growth has continued consistently despite the challenging economic situation and government’s cuts towards culture:

– The theatre’s mission is to bring people together, and especially in these times we need shared experiences and empathy. The development work carried out together at Oulu Theatre has been fruitful, and it is a pleasure to note that the theatre’s connection to the people of Oulu is strong, says Anu-Maarit Moilanen, the theatre’s CEO.

The hit musical Kinky Boots brought over 30,000 visitors

A special attraction in 2025 was the musical Kinky Boots, with a 98 percent occupancy rate. A total of 30,962 spectators saw the musical. Almost every performance was practically sold out.

– Making Kinky Boots was wonderful and the team was brilliant, but due to its content criticizing the norms, we were also nervous about its reception. I am incredibly impressed by how the Oulu and national audience embraced it, shared the message of the work and showed their enthusiastic standing ovation at every performance, says Alma Lehmuskallio, the director of Kinky Boots and the theatre’s artistic director.

– I don’t think I will experience anything like this very often in my career, says Lehmuskallio.

A diverse and ambitious programme in the background

In addition to the musical, the year 2025 was a time of successful artistic experiments and diversity for the theatre, which was also directly reflected in the result:

– I am extremely happy that the chosen artistic direction is holding up so well. In 2025, in addition to the musical, we produced the work Perillä – Destination, which tells the story of multicultural Finland, theatre for babies, technological experiments in the small stage production of White Hunger, improvisation for the large stage and we invested in the classics Anna Karenina and Moominland Midwinter, says the theatre’s artistic director Alma Lehmuskallio.

– The result has been achieved with a diverse and ambitious artistic programme, Lehmuskallio sums up.

Investment in audience work has yielded results

Oulu Theatre has also actively developed its audience work and the theatre’s accessibility. In recent years, the number of audience work participants has been at the top level in the entire country.

A total of 16,320 visitors visited the theatre’s 277 public audience work events in 2025. The increase in visitor numbers from the previous year is approximately six percent.

– It is very important that the theatre fulfills its societal mission by also organising free and low-threshold events related to theatre, says Anu-Maarit Moilanen, the theatre’s CEO.

– Encounters with the audience offer us a valuable perspective on issues that interest the public. For example, the free events at the Theatre Restaurant Aulis during the week have given a new living room for the people of Oulu, she adds.

Spring programme speaks to a wide audience

Oulu Theatre will continue to speak to its audience with a wide and diverse programme during the European Capital of Culture year 2026. Ovllá, the first opera performed in Northern Sámi in Finland, which premiered in January, can be seen until 28th of February.

On Saturday 7th of March, The Trial, a show aimed at young people, will premiere on the big stage. During the same premiere week, on Friday 6th of March, a comedy based on Miika Nousiainen’s best-selling novel, Facelift (2020), will be seen on the small stage.

The autumn programme will premiere on 14th of August with 100% Oulu and 27th of August with Faravid’s Land. 100% Oulu is a concept by the documentary contemporary theatre group Rimini Protokoll, founded in Berlin in the year 2000, and is produced from an Oulu perspective. Faravid’s Land is an immersive work that combines theatre, contemporary circus and contemporary dance in the now-closed supermarket building in Raksila.

Statistical information 2025:

  • Turnover in 2025: 3,398,834 euros, an increase of 19% compared to the previous year.
  • Total income in 2025: 11,435,188 euros, an increase of 3.31 % from the previous year.
  • Number of viewers in 2025: 80,164 viewers, an increase of 8.7% from the previous year.
  • Occupancy rate in 2025: average 84%, an increase of 10% from the previous year.
  • Number of participants in audience work in 2025: 16,320 visitors, an increase of 6% from the previous year.