Review: Iloisiin kuulemiin ja näkemiin

Throwing a bag of peas

If you want to laugh and if you want to laugh at yourself, you should go to the theatre! This is the conclusion we came to when we made a theatre trip with our colleagues in honour of the spring.

The topic was also so close to my heart that it really touched my skin. The Helsinki City Theatre’s stunningly fine musical play “Joyful Hears and Goodbyes” mirrors the colourful phases of the Finnish Broadcasting Company against the background of Finland’s recent history.

Oh, the amount of laughter, humour and hurtful slurs!

For those who are crazy about history, nostalgia hungry and fans of Finnish schlager music, the play is an absolute hit.

Written by journalist Outi Poppi and historian Jukka Relander, the rejoicing is skilfully constructed.

The history of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) and Finland is mirrored from the Olympic year of 1952 to the present day. The picture of the era is drawn with well-chosen auditory images and other archive samples, almost in the same way as in the Living Archive.

From one decade to the next, they move on the wings of schlager music. The skilled actors directed by Mikko Kivinen click the last pieces into place.

The event takes place in the editorial office of the Finnish Broadcasting Company’s Päiväpeili, the turmoil of which is followed from one decade to the next. The editorial office has a solid membership staff from the left, middle and right wings. Politically elected leaders lead and sometimes the stools change according to the political cycle.

Permanence and traditional values in the editorial office are represented by the chief announcer Tyyne Kälpäkkä, whose squeaky dry appearance is not shaken by fashion trends and constantly changing economic cycles. In the background, the figure of the beloved and long-time announcer Kaisu Puuska-Joki looms.

The work of the editorial office is done by a young summer journalist girl who has to wait for her permanent position decade after decade. The new era is represented by the “bunny generator” Nico, who takes over the space with a jeejee attitude when the traditional fortress of the Finnish Broadcasting Company is broken.

There is a power struggle in the editorial office, the organization is constantly being revolutionized and people are being fired.

Matrix models, centres of excellence and change training have been borrowed directly from the real life of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) and other modern companies.

“Have you also participated in those therapy sessions where a bag of peas was thrown from one person to another in a circle and a circle game was played hand in hand when the resistance to change was broken?” we asked each other laughing at the end of the theatre evening.

Quite a few were – and so were I.

Although the characters and events of the play are strongly caricatured, the image in the mirror is in line with its model. It is truer than reality itself.

And the Finnish Broadcasting Company is such an important and fine company that it is worth laughing at if it is done with warmth and good intentions, as in this play.

We had a good laugh along – the entire Yle New Services Editorial Board – sorry, Centre of Excellence!