Review: Siiri ja sotkuinen Kerttu

Have other three-year-olds had fan seasons? In our case, they have been Moomins, Siiri, Princesses, Chicks and Nelli Noodles. When the fans of the Siri books were at their hottest in the winter, I booked tickets for us to the Helsinki City Theatre’s Studio Pasila to see the play Siiri and the Messy Kerttu, written by Tiina Nopola.

During the most intense fan season, Siiri was read so many dozens of times that the child actually knew them by heart. She could pick up the Siri book and “read” them from cover to cover, i.e. list the entire text word for word from memory. Since then, books have been a bit on the sidelines as newer fandoms have come into play. That’s why I wondered a bit if the play might be of interest.

The worry was unnecessary. The girl ran to sit in the front row, giggling, jumping and laughing. And immediately before leaving the cloakroom, he asked when we would come again.

My mother also thought the play was brisk and fun. I was afraid of being fake beforehand. Children’s theatre can sometimes be quite a torment for adults, when the acting is so big for children that the grown-up’s back teeth creak. In this play, there was no such problem, but the interpretation was just the right size. The actors were good, and the body language was familiar from Mervi Lindman’s illustrations – the actors stood at least occasionally leaning back and their knees slightly bent, as is typical of Lindman’s illustrations. The characters looked enough like their cartoon role models, as even a child recognized the characters even before they were introduced.

The play Siiri and the Messy Kerttu is about the birthday party of Siiri’s friend little Otto, which is also attended by Otto’s cousin Kerttu. Little Otto ends up spending more time with Kerttu than with Siiri, and that makes her feel bad, especially when Kerttu breaks the norms by making a mess and going on a rampage. Siiri wonders if she should become more like Kerttu so that Otto would like her more. Siiri makes a mess of herself, but what happens: Kerttu shows up spotless, in a “princess dress”, said my daughter. In the end, however, the girls swear friendship to each other.

The 30-minute play was just the right length for a toddler. There was no time to lose their attention during the play, but the entire audience watched the play excitedly. Children were allowed to sit or sit on mattresses at the front of the auditorium, and there were seats reserved for adults further back. The performance had enough captivating songs, fart humour and buzz so that even the stickiest children were sure to get fired up.

The performance also dealt with current emotions with our three-and-a-half-year-old. Why does someone want to play with someone more than another? Am I good enough? The play also gave the child words to process their feelings: Yesterday we were playing in the yard, and the neighbor’s children came to play with us for a while. After they left, my daughter sat in her seat, looking miserable. When I asked him what was wrong, he replied with the play’s line: “I want a child friend.” Terribly moving.

After the performance, we talked about the play. The child especially remembered when Kerttu called Siiri names and threw meatballs at her. Throwing meatballs was done in a fun way, imitating slow motion. At the same time, the slow-motion acting diluted the violence – no one was really thrown anything. The child was also worried about why the middle Otto and the big Otto familiar from the books were not there. Had they not been invited? I said that the others had probably just been late for the party and were coming to the party later. It passed.

The play will now be performed a few more times in the spring season, and it will return to the stage again in September. It seems that there are still some tickets left for the performances. We thought we would invite a friend to join us and go see the play again in the autumn, at the request of the audience.

Siiri and the messy Kerttu

Helsinki City Theatre, Studio Pasila Foyer

Directed by Kimmo Virtanen

Screenplay by Sinikka Nopola

Cast: Sanna Majuri, Tiina Peltonen and Hannes Suominen

Tickets 8 €