Review: Iloisiin kuulemiin ja näkemiin
There is so much to sing about
The Finnish Broadcasting Company’s Mirror of the Day received the history to the great delight of the audience
The Pasila studio offers a luxuriously extravagant and sublimely equal atmosphere. This time, however, it is not the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), even though the audience is allowed to get acquainted with its “imaginary” editorial staff of current affairs programmes, but the Helsinki City Theatre.
Theatre Studio Pasila’s new Finnish play Joyful Hears and Goodbyes, which is well suited to Theatre Studio Pasila’s entertainment-oriented programme, examines Finland’s recent past, and no small piece of the cake has been cut from it. Actually, the whole cake is on offer. The events span from the Olympic year of 1952 to the present day.
Such a timeline makes one doubt whether the creators will be able to achieve anything more than the typical cavalcade. Outi Popp and Jukka Relander have succeeded in this by choosing the history of information and the Finnish Broadcasting Company in particular as their point of view.
A large dose of historical reference points have been accommodated: Armi Kuusela, the death of Stalin , the note crisis, the occupation of Czechoslovakia and the OSCE. But above all, there is a comprehensive sample of different types of journalists and changes that have revolutionized the media field.
The premiere audience included a large number of former and current Yle employees, and at least journalist Päivi Istala said that she recognized herself and several of her colleagues on stage. The role models of the journalists are not named in the play, and the characters are, of course, combined with traits from different people. Only the real names of the men in the management are used, and they only appear on stage indirectly.
The sublime aristocracy of the 1950s is amusingly summed up in Riitta Havukainen’s serious, parodic interpretation of the sassy announcer’s wife, who has a great way of pronouncing names in a foreign language and a clear understanding of the rules of propriety.
The journalists sitting at their desks in suits represent different party positions in the name of post-war equality, but they are also exhilarating character studies presented by Seppo Maijala, Kari Mattila and Jari Pehkonen. The task of the eternal summer reporter, played by Hanna Vahtikari, is to run around as a representative of the female gender to take care of the field interviews and make coffee.
The social upheaval of the 1960s has a particular impact on gender roles. Leena Rapola’s new conscious female journalist takes off her bra and spreads her floral scarf on the floor of the editorial office for women’s nightly drinks.
The breaking of Yle’s monopoly position brings a new character to the stage, an errand boy who rises to become a visionary of a new era in an instant, and who, played by Antti Timonen with energetic consistency, is downright chilling to watch. This is indeed where we have come! Old journalists, i.e. those who are not pushed into early retirement, are being turned into media personalities.
There is also a musical play for happy hears and goodbyes. Fourteen schlager songs and other rock songs from different eras have been included.
The wasteful impression of the performance is created by the large number of actors on stage. The songs are performed separately from the events in front of a curtain and by a really strong group. The appearance of Vuokko Hovatta on stage after the intermission makes the impression particularly luxurious.
The connection between the songs and the events of the play requires its own reflection. The placement of the songs does not seek a direct donkey bridge from the characters in the story or world political events. It wasn’t until after the performance that I realised that it was the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) that expressed itself through songs. So yes, the village road is quiet and the motorway is hot. The broadcast ends with a sing-along: I will protect you from everything.