Review: Viattomuuden loppu
FAMILY TRAGEDY BEHIND GLASS WALLS
The play Innocence of Innocence, written and directed by Pasi Lampela,
The ending brings crisp contemporary drama to Helsinki’s theatre life. Drama
examines the growing power and entertainment of the media through one family,
for which you can find a role model for the recent slapstick
favorite family.
The Ranta family is in crisis when the family’s father, who is successful in business life,
Antti (Pekka Laiho) is accused of sexual harassment at his workplace.
The scandal is delicious in the eyes of the media, and the public has time to condemn Ranta before
than even the first actual charges have been brought. Getting to the news
The family is looking for support from each other, but the situation also triggers
Pent-up emotions and anger are unleashed.
The greatest power of the performance lies in Lampela’s multi-layered text, which succeeds in
at the same time to distinguish between family relationships and contemporary social
phenomena. The play questions the role of the media’s watchdog and highlights
opportunity to use publicity as a playing field for power games. Transparency is
a prerequisite for democracy, says the family’s daughter Annika
(Milka Ahlroth), who believes in the news, while the father claims that the news about her is
only entertainment, the purpose of which is to close the eyes of the people to the real
problems.
Set design reminiscent of the example image in Katariina Kirjavainen’s interior design magazine
continues the same theme of transparency. Family aquarium and glass-walled home
are comparable to each other, bringing with them the possibility of the gaze and thus the media’s
I’m sorry. The home is open to the eyes and therefore everything must look exemplary.
Thus, transparency does not guarantee truthfulness, but it makes people create
Images like the one we wanted for greedy eyes. But glass is also a fragile material
and thus easily broken. One gossip whose truthfulness remains
riddle, smashes the glass wall and everything breaks.
In the family, one has already been broken before the father’s harassment accusations. Niko
Kosti , played by Saarela, has fallen ill and is now watching the events
a bit off the beaten track. Saarela manages to make an entire performance about a marginalized boy
the most interesting character. The illness has allowed Kosti to refuse
expectations placed on him and take certain liberties. Apathetic Kostin
The latent spirit of rebellion is aptly emphasized by the soundscape created by Mauri Siirala .
Hannele Lauri, a master of situation comedy, plays Katariina, frustrated
As a mother of a family, she is a tragic figure despite all her comicism. Her and
In Pekka Laiho’s scenes together, the dynamics between the actors are
at best, but others are also doing it well. The characters are
comic caricatures without psychological depth, but with a little warmth and
However, they evoke a sense of pity in the viewer.
Lampela’s text does not bring with it any revolutionary insights into modern
phenomena, but it analyses the questions it asks about the power of the media and the
of human malaise in an interesting way and manages to bring several different perspectives
to its topic. The perspectives run side by side throughout the play, leaving room
also to the viewer’s own thoughts.
The End of Innocence on the small stage of the Helsinki City Theatre.
Premiere 29.8. Written and directed by Pasi Lampela. Set design Katariina
Variegated. Costumes by Maija Pekkanen. Lights by Juhani Leppänen. Voiced by Mauri Siirala.
Cast: Pekka Laiho, Hannele Lauri, Niko Saarela, Milka Ahlroth and Juha
Veijonen.