Review: Sylvi ja Anita

Through the eyes of women

The silent triangle drama of President Urho Kekkonen and the two loves of his life still fascinates me.


Mrs. Anita Hallama (Heidi Herala) is not thrilled when she is asked to accompany President Urho Kekkonen’s wife Sylvi (Eeva-Liisa Haimelin) on a representative trip to Yugoslavia in 1963. On the third night of the trip, however, a silent love drama begins, which is the subject of the Helsinki City Theatre’s play Sylvi and Anita .

From the very beginning of author Panu Rajala’s fictional play, which is based on real life, it is clear that women do not like each other. The president’s wife is depicted as a grey sparrow who prefers to be alone than to her husband’s court. Mrs. Hallama, who is married in her own right, is a noble and bloody, ruthless woman of race, who goes crazy over the president’s attention and starts a relationship with him.

The story is told through the eyes of women. The president can be seen on stage as mere reflections. Although the fragile Sylvi is hinted at accepting her husband’s mistress, the play repeats the offended woman’s wish: a fine woman could have taken care of it earlier.