Review: Metsä

RAGGED ROLES

In the forest, ageism is given with a rag. And we go from one emotional state to another, from light-hearted comedy to deep waters of tragedy. For the viewer, this is a celebration, and I believe it is a celebration for the creators as well.

I feel privileged.
After all, during one play, I was able to witness the miracle of theatre several times: when the audience holds their breath to hear every word and breath in the silence between them. You could see the frown and a drop of sweat running down the edge of your cheek.
This was repeated when both Asko Sarkola and Esko Roine stepped on stage, but above all with Lasse Pöysti present.
The 24th of January, a weekday Tuesday afternoon, was crowned by the 85th anniversary of Pöysti, in honour of which the Grand Vieux Monsieur of Finnish theatre was flowered, kissed and hugged many times after the end of the play Metsä at the Helsinki City Theatre.
What could be a better play for Pöysti than The Forest in this day and age, hardly anything! After all, he is allowed to play the lackey Karpi, who repeatedly spouts embarrassing truths, and who seems to have ears and eyes larger than his size even on his back.
Pöysti is an endearing sight as he skies along the stage and sounds like Moominpappa at times.

Equal to Pöysti
A living legend

Best of all, Aleksandr Ostrovsky’s play, completed in 1872, is a surprisingly topical story about the amusing smallness of man, but also about actors and acting in practice.
In the world of the playwright Ostrovsky, who has been described as the father of Russian theatre, human life in general is a mixture of comedy and tragedy and constant little games, but the author has also written three plays that specifically talk about acting.
One of them is The Forest, which was directed for the City Theatre by a legend in the Russian theatre and film world similar to Pöysti, Yuri Solomin. Born in 1935 in the Siberian city of Chita, near the border between China and Mongolia, Yuri Mefodionovich has an acting background and is perhaps best known for his role as explorer Vladimir Arsenyev in Akira Kurosawa’s unforgettable film Dersu Uzala from 1975.
The City Theatre’s performance is Solomin’s third production of The Forest. The first was in Bulgaria in 1979. The second time came in 1996 at the Maly Theatre in Moscow, one of Russia’s most prestigious art institutions, which Solomin has directed since 1988. There, Metsä still goes to full stands.
Maly was born in 1756 with the decree of Empress Elizabeth , and is still obliged by it to cherish the legacy of Russian-language comedy and drama theatre.

Neukku nostalgia
and curtain dancing

It feels like I’ve been to the theatre in Russia. In addition to directing, the Russian filmmakers are also responsible for the music, set design and costumes.
All three have a strong role in the play. The music of Maly’s Artistic Deputy Director, composer Grigori Goberniki , guides the events on stage, raises tension and tickles the nerves of laughter. And it’s oh so nostalgic for the Soviet Union!
Aleksandr Glazunov’s set design could be described as Russian romantic. His insight into the dance of curtains to the beat of music is breathtaking.
With his costumes, costume designer Alexei Trefilov instantly creates an image of his wearer, a poor actor, to a pompous nobleman. Especially Tiina Pirhonen , who plays the lady of the manor, Raisa Pavlovna, gives all the credit to the costumes with her movements.
There is not a single weak link in the forest – this is probably ensured by both precise guidance and teamwork. The play is also a wet rag against ageism.
The background group includes folk artists from both the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, and the performers include the best A-group among Finnish seniors.
Esko Roine, born in 1944, and Asko Sarkola, who is a year younger, are, of course, boys next to Pöysti, who came into the world in 1927, but according to the spirit of the times, it was already so last season.

We are noble, and not
a drop of sense

Age is not visible when the pace of the play picks up, and the speech machine of the actor Nestshastlivtsev, who has noble roots, played by Sarkola sparklingly, gets going. The movements only get sharper and sharper.
Sarkola’s Gennady Demjanitsh is an excellent counterpart to Roine’s Arkady Stshastlivtsev, who has been dropped from actor to servant. The duo is familiar to each other from many as co-stars, and it is delightfully visible in the audience as well.
Tom Wentzel, born in 1947, can also be counted in the senior guard. His role as the lord of the manor Bodayev is limited in time, but strong in his presence.
It is delicious to imagine the atmosphere in the rehearsals of the play, where veterans meet middle-aged people – such as Eija Vilpas , who plays the hostess Ulita faithfully to her style, and Eppu Salminen in the role of the wingman Milonov. Not to mention the junior department ( Kreeta Salminen, Antti Lang, among others).
One of the most delicious characters, the wealthy peasant Ivan Petrovich, is also played by the middle-aged Pertti Koivula. It still makes me smile when I remember this undressing tantrum.
So Russian, so Soukku! And so topical that it fits like a vodka schnapps on the blini table. In the words of Arkashka-Roine: “We are so sublime that we are dizzy, but there is no sense, no dropper!”
It hits and sinks, even in today’s Finland!