Espoo City Theatre – The International Theatre of Finland - was founded in 1988. It is located in Espoo, a neighbouring city of Helsinki Espoo is the second largest city of Finland and a part of the metropole area. The repertoire of the theatre consists of as well its own productions as visiting performances from other parts of Finland or abroad. The performances are shown on either of the theatre´s two stages. The theatre has presented performances from more than thirty countries, representing all continents. Annually the theatre shows more than 20 different productions. The amount of performances is about 150.The number of spectators has fluctuated between 25 000 and 35 000. In 2017 the theatre had 28 000 spectators. With its new Artistic Director, Erik Söderblom, the repertoire will in upcoming years include an increasing number of international collaborations, and the genre of the productions shown will widen up. The repertoire will consist of as well physical theatre, dance, new music theatre and contemporary circus as site-specific and immersive performances. Special focus will be put on outreaching and inclusive theatre productions and on the integration of digital techniques on the performing arts. The theatre has 13 permanent employees, but the annual amount of people working in theatre extends 100. Espoo City Theatre is operated by the Espoo City Theatre Foundation and its board with representatives of both the City of Espoo, the Espoo Theatre Support Association and the theatre itself. From the beginning of January 2018, the board is chaired by Paula Viljakainen.