Review: Järki ja tunteet

The 1800s come to life wonderfully

The intriguing tapestry of held emotions and longing for unattainable love is now served up as a new great direction. The British classic does not pale in comparison.

An impoverished widowed mother needs nothing for her two daughters as badly as a wealthy husband. Is the mother a calculating profiteer?

Not at all. Living in England in the 1830s, a woman without the security of marriage has been sentenced to a prison of both poverty and loneliness. 

The possible entry of single girls into the port of marriage is not a very difficult topic as a starting point. The British nature of the restrained emotions and pretentious behaviour of the 19th century could be made into a perfectly numbing almost three hours, if it weren’t for Jane Austen, a master of ironic humour and an amazingly perceptive cinematographer of the country nobility, and the American producer-guru Jon Jory.

Helsinki City Theatre’s Small Stage once again gets to congratulate itself. It has produced one of the finest directings of the spring. Although the classic is being reheated, it is completely fresh and clear, free of the dust of the past.

Dashwood’s siblings are young Kreeta Salminen and Sara Melleri. An excellent counterpart is Salminen as Elinor, who is flaming from the inside but restrained in her behaviour, and Melleri as Marianne, who is unbridled in love but matures through disappointment. 

Overall, the successful casting makes the play a rich tapestry. The dialogue is written so brilliantly that the audience gets to laugh a lot, although often with tears shining in their eyes. The work is a celebration of love and marriage, without a sour aftertaste.