Review: Viiru ja Pesonen – Viiru kateissa

HIP HOP, PESONEN IS POP!

In the foyer of the City Theatre
The old man and the cat warm my heart

Who with a family doesn’t know the children’s books by the Swedish author Sven Nordqvist , in which old man Pesonen and his talking cat Viiru adventure. The old man and the cat, it’s almost a classic.
The combination of a slightly grumpy reclusive dude and a curious child-like animal has resulted in many funny and warm stories, with skilful illustrations that charm with humorous insights and an abundance of details.

These silliness are transferred to the stage reasonably well, and you can imagine even more of them.

Peter Engkvist has directed a third performance in the foyer of the Helsinki City Theatre’s small stage that relies on the power of imagination and human warmth. Without actors who test the limits of their expressiveness, these carefully thought-out performances, which are quite simple in appearance, would hardly work – but Engkvist has had the opportunity to work with actors who throw themselves into telling the story.
In the performance of The Lost Rowan, which followed the delightful Boy and the Star, the male lead was played by a person who dives smoothly from one task to the next
Sami Hokkanen, and now he takes on the role of a charmingly self-centered cat named Viiru, who gets everywhere and sticks her nose into trouble.

Hokkanen is funny, agile and has practiced his pantomime. In addition, he emits a variety of sounds, which are enough to bring joy when Viiru adventures as a rally driver and radio, gets to know the mugs that flutter here and there and pops into space.

Viiru is missing , above all, Hokkanen’s show, even though Pekka Huotari’s Pesonen looks like a character familiar from the book.
Both also play Pesonen’s chubby chickens, the other even a bit of a fierce spider, and tell a story – without leaving the audience in doubt as to who is who and when.
The best thing about the performance is the magic of theatre, that you imagine, empathise and feel together.