Review: Villin kanin kapakka

FOR PEHKONEN’S SAKE

Jari Pehkonen transforms into such an expressionless Albert Einstein in the Helsinki City Theatre’s Wild Rabbit Tavern that it feels hilarious to see the famous physicist almost alive. One element of Pehkonen’s acting work is reliability. He knows how to do it and that’s it. So it is only luck that the boy from North Karelia once changed his very different professional plans to work as an actor.

As such, The Wild Rabbit’s Tavern, a play written by actor Steve Martin , is set in a small Parisian restaurant that still exists today under the name Le Lapin Agile. We are living in a time a hundred years ago and guessing what the new century will bring. As such, the setting is easy, but the version that has now premiered does not make it boring. The human mind is busy with very similar things from one century to the next.

Pessimism, or at least the realism of life, is served up by the owner of the tavern, Freddy himself, with the mellow appearance of Jyrki Kovaleff . One of the talents of the young generation is Juha Jokela, whose interpretation of Elvis startles the question: on tape or alive?

Elina Kolehmainen has given herself over to the costume design of this little play. The authentic Parisian spirit from the turn of the 20th century is fun to watch. Tiina Puumalainen’s Finnish translation is fluent and Mikko Kivinen’s direction is apt in its timing. Eppu Salminen is seen as Pablo Picasso and Hannu Lauri as an art dealer with whom he would definitely lose out in the shops; Role-playing is a solid art of competence.

It’s very nice that the Helsinki City Theatre uses the stage of Studio Pasila in such a deliberate way, and the actors also treat the side stage with respect. The Wild Rabbit’s Tavern is not a big play in itself, but when carefully executed, it provides a great lightening of life without being silly. And it’s worth seeing, if only for Pehkonen’s sake.