"The history of Baltic Circle represents the history of contemporary theatre, and its present day and future play a vanguard role in the theatre and performing arts scene both in Finland and on the international scene."
(From the Theatre of the Year 2019 nomination announcement)
Baltic Circle started as a network for theatre professionals in the Baltic and Nordic region in 1996. The management of the Helsinki based theatre Q-teatteri at the time, Jukka Hyde Hytti and Erik Söderblom, founded the network to advance cultural exchange especially in the Baltic Sea area. Right from the start, Baltic Circle’s central operations have included organising an international theatre festival, artist exchange, drama translations, international co-productions, and European cultural initiatives.
The Baltic Circle festival has been organised in Helsinki since 2000. Throughout its history, the festival has been attune to contemporary issues. It endeavors to address societal injustices and to shine light on hidden power structures. Baltic Circle has grown to become a central organisation in the field of theatre and performing arts, and it has become an important place for encounters and networking for theatre professionals and audiences. The festival has managed to create a wide following in Europe and beyond.
Baltic Circle collaborates with Finnish and international theatre festivals, production centres, cultural institutes and universities. Over its two decades, the international network has grown and extended its reach across geographic borders at the same time that the international performing arts circuit has picked up speed. Baltic Circle has acted as a main organiser and partner in several EU and Nordic initiatives and is a member of the European network Festivals in Transition.
Baltic Circle was awarded special prizes by the Association of Finnish Theatres in 2001 and 2005. It has also won the Theatre Info Finland award twice, in 2012 (festival director Eva Neklyaeva) and in 2014 (Make Arts Policy working group). In 2015, Baltic Circle’s visual identity was awarded the Kultahuippu, the main award in the Vuoden Huiput design competition (GRMMXI collective), and in 2019 Baltic Circle was nominated as Theatre of the Year.
The festival’s directors have been Jukka Hyde Hytti and Erik Söderblom (2000), Jukka Hyde Hytti (2003, 2005), Johanna Hammarberg (2007–2008), Eva Neklyaeva (2009–2014), Satu Herrala and Hanna Nyman (2015–2019), and Hanna Parry and Hanna Nyman (2020). In 2020, the festival’s artistic director is Hanna Parry and its managing director Asta Teräväinen.
Q-teatteri acted as the main organiser of the festival until 2022, after which the festival’s operations continued under an independent association, Baltic Circle ry.