Review: Einsteinin rikos
A densely atmospheric play about the friendship between a famous physicist and a vagabond.
The well-known contemporary French writer Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt is remembered in Finland at least for the touching play Oscar and Mamma Rosa, which was seen at the Helsinki City Theatre in 2005.
Einstein’s Crime (La trahison d’Einstein), which represents a newer production, is a dense and humane morality about human choices. The good Finnish translation is by Timo Torikka and the stylish, snappy direction for the small stage of the City Theatre is by Kari Heiskanen.
Einstein on the beach
It’s the 30s on an austere seashore in New Jersey, USA. The man of the shores and easy-going vagabond, Pekka Huotari, witnesses a strange sight when a clumsy Sunday sailor makes a mistake and falls ashore.
Soon a man crawls out of the sea, whose identity even the tramp does not believe. Is this the most famous physicist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein? However, this is the case, and Santeri Kinnunen, who embodies his role nicely, begins to place his wet papers on the railing of the pier to dry. This reminds me of Philip Glass’s fine work Einstein on a beach!
The initial situation interestingly leads to an equal atmosphere. Both are suitably in the yard and both have their dignity. The inventor of the world’s most famous physics formula, appears as a humane gentleman who is worried about Hitler’s rise to power in Europe.
Friendship between men
Gradually, a subtle friendship begins to form between the men, fuelled by intelligent debates. In Markku Hakuri’s set design, an important part of the allusive seaside pier landscape is the skyscape sketched as a beautiful painting. The moon appears there from time to time. A fun game develops between the men. The tramp has supposedly painted the landscape and Einstein, joining in the play, pays for this landscape. In this way, the giving of money is done correctly and with dignity.
However, not everything is blissful. A threatening-looking agent, Joachim Wigelius, begins to sneak up on the scenes, who has been ordered to shadow Einstein and extort information from the vagabond. Of course, the traces lead to the atomic bomb formula and whose side Einstein is on.
The situation becomes more tense as the clouds of war approach America as well. The core issue is the secret Manhattan Project, as a result of which the first atomic bomb was finally detonated in 1945. And soon there will be a rumble on the stage as well…
Intelligent steering, good roles
Heiskanen has directed with an intelligent, densely atmospheric morality style. Friendship and humanity emerge as a strong message. Kinnunen and Huotari are a great couple.
It’s great that Kinnunen has been given a role in which he can use his talents in a variety of ways. Kinnunen’s Einstein combines humanity, wisdom, wit and, touchingly, wistfulness. An impressive and memorable role!
The performance forces theatre to take a stand on major themes and responsibility for world peace. Interestingly, Einstein’s crime itself remains an enigma and a morality that haunts the mind. An hour and a half in the theatre, but with a deep dive in mind.