Review: Kiertopalkinto
THE TROPHY IS SHARP AND EMOTIONALLY POWERFUL
In the spring, the marriage comedy The Last Great Lover premiered, in which an old man tries to succeed in having a cup of coffee.
The same line continues in the Finnish premiere of Esther Vilar’s play Kiertodíj. In it, an older gentleman gets carried away by young women. The play will be performed until 4 October at Studio Elsa.
Struggling to refresh a serene love is fun. What wild tricks a person does when they are bored, how animalistic they become in their anger, and what kind of wild thoughts are going through their heads. Those who are not said out loud.
The perspective of the tour award is on women who fight as victims of love. The central characters are 55-year-old lawyer Helen (Leena Uotila) and 40-year-old architect Yana (Jonna Järnefelt), as well as Iiris, a 25-year-old student and yoga teacher (Cecilia Paul).
Well, victim is probably the right word to describe their emotional state, but not their actions. The tour prize is full of sharp and joyful language, but in the end its attitude is very old-fashioned.
How did it turn out then?
Helen’s husband gets excited about the bloody Yana who lives in the penthouse, and she tells Helen that it is best for Helen to give up her husband in favor. As proof of the relationship, Yana gives Helen the key to the maintenance room, which overlooks Yana’s apartment. But Helen gets much more.
This leads to a wild exchange of messages, in which women justify their views bloodily. Wild sex and corsets will please a man who is tired of everyday love. But only for a moment, because soon even younger youth and tantra will seduce you.
Although the focus of the performance is on men, its actors are women. You don’t even need a man on stage, where women take care of the emotional mess he causes.
The prize is based on faxes that the women send to each other. The translator Liisa Ryömä has brought really good nuances and liveliness to the language. On the level of events, the Trophy is simple, but on an emotional level, it is complex.
The performance takes place in women’s apartments. They all live in the same skyscraper, but they don’t meet once during the show. Physically.
On an emotional level, they meet in a lively way and eventually know each other better than anyone. On an emotional level, they even sit next to each other on the same couch. The soul is more powerful than the body.
Bursts of emotions
Word pains fly between the women. When 40-year-old Yana cuts 55-year-old Helena on the basis of her age, she receives comments about the difficulties of forty-year-olds in finding a decent man. Except perhaps in law firms, where divorcing men take care of their affairs.
The original and only wife, Helen, sends Yana instructions on how to keep a man. How to take care of your own man with a belly.
Actress Leena Uotila is a true educated loving woman as Helen, whose loss is indescribable. First. But Helen is an old fox and finally masters the situation.
Especially in the observation room, the emotional changes are strong. At first, Helen experiences jealousy and anger, but recognizes the real events of the skyscraper much faster than the other characters in the play. Anger turns into torment and peace and understanding.
Jonna Järnefeltin Yana has more contempt and a wild cat. Järnefelt is an excellent interpreter of the different levels of self-confidence, collapse and new rise.
A delicious role is also played by Cecilia Paul, whose interpretation of the student Iiris first glows with Buddhist peace. And later the despair of loss. Self-confidence can sometimes only be superficial.
The Touring Prize is a great play. Easy, hilarious and funny, but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression. In its own way, it is a human story about the capriciousness, permanence and impermanence of life. And about the durability of the marriage bond.