Review: Vielä ehtii
There is still time
The warm-hearted comedy seems to be the next hit of the City Theatre.
The arrival of improvisation in Finland was boosted by the excellent TV series Nyhjää from Nothing. In it, Leena Uotila, Riitta Havukainen, Ulla Tapaninen and Vesa Vierikko, among others , played deliciously. How do those same people now pretend to be the elderly? Oh yes, Nyhjää out of nowhere came on TV 22 years ago… How does that time go by so fast these days?
Swedish Carin Mannheimer depicts the passage of time and aging, with its sorrows and joys, in her play I sista minuten (I sista minuten) very aptly, with a gentle heart and raunchy humour. Liisa Urpelainen is responsible for the Finnish translation, and the warm comedy for the City Theatre is directed by Pertti Sveholm.
A new quartet?
The performance is predicted to be the successor to HKT’s recent hit Kvartet, which was performed by its renowned senior actors for almost ten years. The beginning of theperformance is also promising: the play is currently running to sold-out audiences and will move to a larger space on the Arena stage next year.
Mannheimer has skilfully whipped up familiar themes in his play, perhaps even a little calculated. There are friends who have loved the same man, now deceased. There is a symbiotic married couple whose bored woman eventually makes a detachment. There are the last, uninhibited flare-ups of the flame of love, even exits the closet. Everything that is part of the spectrum of life.
A deck of cards for life when nostalgia rings
Jyrki Seppä’s set design unfolds as a traditional, safe bourgeois dwelling, with furniture that has seen life underlining a nice salon comedy. Mauri Siirala’ssoundscape resonates with nostalgia, familiar Latin hits and wire. A clever realization: I think I belong to the target group myself, as my leg in the stands was shaking for the joy of recognition!
The starting point is familiarly functional: Uotila plays the aging Marianne, who gathers with her for lunch and a game of bridge on Mondays. The card group consists of Annakaisa (Ulla Tapaninen) and Säde (Riitta Havukainen). Since Marianne’s husband has passed away, the widower Peter (Vesa Vierikko) has been invited to the fourth card table. Years of ingrained habits, old grudges, drinking alcohol and getting a new man with you make for a bitter clash right from the start.
Jukka Rasila plays an interesting and change-initiating maintenance man “multifunctional Tommi”. It is possible to dismantle old cliques after all, when a sincere, energetic young man who cares about others enters the ring. The gradually awakening friendship between Uotila and Rasila’s characters is beautifully depicted. Marianne’s daughter Kristiina, Kaisa Torkkel, is forced to look at her mother’s new life in amazement. By the way, it’s quite exciting that young adults have the most conservative and negative attitude towards the eroticism of the elderly! At least according to studies.
Enjoyable characters
Leena Uotila gives a fine and memorable role as an aging Marianne, whose life values and settings are completely renewed. Uotila convincingly interprets the change from cynical selfishness towards a merciful woman who enjoys life. The melting of the ice caused sighs of delight and emotion in the audience as well. Identification is always touching.
Sveholm’s direction is cordial and understanding. Colleagues and legendary members of the group have obviously had a lot of fun while preparing the performance. There are many nice and funny nuances, humour gets a lot of space, but so does soreness and touchingness. The performance radiates human warmth.
In her Maija Karhi wig, Tapaninen creates a funny character as a stiff and pessimistic Annakais, who is wary of her sensitive stomach. However, the character’s stomach acids seem to be only in his attitude. Vierikko is excellent as the charming Peter, who shakes his hands in his Parkinson’s syndrome but believes that he is still a lively young man. The surprise twist at the end brings with it a whole new kind of Vierikko.
Havukainen is very charming as the ever-young poetic Sätee, whose hippie style tells of the 70s. The stealthy walking style that emphasizes hip swinging is a hilarious and skillful insight!
The importance of caring
Still Has Time is a warm-hearted comedy that wisely tells about the inevitability of life. As the saying goes: “Life is not an exercise.” Everything happens here and now. The relativity of everything also includes the fact that someone finds happiness, someone does not. This is also the case in this play. It’s a different matter how you feel about your disadvantage. The performance nicely emphasizes the importance of caring even in the face of old age. At the end, seniors and young people all play bridge together, enjoying life. That is a guideline for all of us.