Review: Elokuu

A STRONG PLAY BY STRONG FEMALE ACTORS

Suddenly and without seeing, the viewer goes to the August theatre performance with a comedy in mind. After all, Ritva Valkama, who is perhaps one of the best, if not the best, comedies in Finland, has a strong presence in advance advertising and press releases.

If the viewer goes looking for comedy, they will be disappointed, because August is by no means that, but it is a great play.

August has not only won the Pulitzer Prize, but has also been praised as the best American play in years. There is quite a lot of similarity between the play’s narrative and the characters in the story and the tensions between them.

The story is interesting, based on the tensions within a family in three generations. The mother of the family, played by Ritva Valkama , is an old woman who is drugged, confident in her own opinions and partly bored with her life. Valkama’s role is juicy and at times even humorous, and she manages it as one would expect, acting nicely and understated.

Taarina’s starting point and framework begin when two daughters, one living and caring for her mother at home, arrive with their families to see the mother. As the story unfolds, the relationships between the families, both on a personal level and otherwise, are put to the test, and there are plenty of surprise twists and turns.


Kari Heiskanen’s interesting direction is clearly Heiskanen’s style, and its ingenuity and how effectively he uses the rotating auditorium of the Helsinki City Theatre’s small stage to tell the story is admirable. The story proceeds logically from the viewer’s point of view, but you always wonder what will happen next. Things are not predictable, which is probably the intention.


August is full of painful secrets, tensions and conflicts in the family, but the play’s crew performs the almost three-hour performance nicely, with the female roles taking the main focus and the strongest performances (Ritva Valkama, Riitta Havukainen, Aino Seppo, Heidi Herala, Jemina Sillanpää).

The performances of the entire spring season were sold out even before the premiere. Maybe it’s Ritva Valkama’s merits – that’s certainly the case, at least in part.


August can be recommended – a great choice once again from the Helsinki City Theatre.