Review: Ihanat naisemme
CRISP FRENCH CONTEMPORARY COMEDY
Helsinki City Theatre: Our Lovely Women Script: Eric Assous Director: Kari Heiskanen Performance: Pengerkatu Stage 8.4.2015
The Pengerkatu stage has a permanent place in Finnish theatre history. After all, it served as the home stage of the Group Theatre for almost three decades. During its golden years (especially in the 1980s), Ryhmäs produced audience and critical successes one after another. Among other things, God’s Lover has had its premiere there, which the Kokkola City Theatre made a very successful update of last year. Also to the classics (especially Moliere’s comedies), the technically masterful ensemble of the Group Theatre always brought some new perspective. The slightly shabby interior of Pengerkatu – where the main emphasis was on content – was as if it had been created as one of the meeting places for a new kind of urban culture in Helsinki in the 80s.
Nowadays, most of the creators of Ryhmäs belong to the establishment of Finnish theatre, and there is a certain nostalgia in the fact that Messrs. Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm and Timo Torikka return to the scene of the crime – now as evacuees from the Helsinki City Theatre. Finland’s largest theatre in terms of the number of spectators has been under renovation for a couple of years, and the building’s stages are scattered around Helsinki.
French Èric Assous’s comedy Our Lovely Ladies gets the interpretation it deserves in the treatment of the aforementioned gentlemen, and Pengerkatu is played with precise accents and the trio clearly enjoys being on stage. Not even the technical problems with the performance I saw ruined the atmosphere, but the guys took control of the interruption of the performance with relaxed self-irony.
The story itself is very simple. The neurotically pedantic Paul, played by Heiskanen, and the more jovial Max (Pertti Sveholm) gather for a weekly circle of cards, for which they wait for the third member, Paul ( Timo Torikka). Finally, Paul arrives and tells him that he has committed a horrific crime. After recovering from the initial shock, the guys begin to think about the importance of trust and true friendship. What does a 35 year friendship mean if one is about to get a life sentence? A surprising plot twist acts as a dynamo for the rattling of the skeletons that were in the closet. All the hidden grudges are rolled out as if an onion were peeled layer by layer. In the end, only the bare core remains. And what is the core? Surprise surprise; human love! The basic message of the play is absolutely humane
Assous’s flowing text throws us through all the pitfalls of a relationship, from infidelity and fear of commitment to weakening emotions and everyday betrayal. The characters in the play are like any of us, and that is why they have human credibility. The comedic nature of the text brings the required lightness to the story and gives the actors room for stylization. Kari Heiskanen, in particular, nuances the control freak Paulia with delightfully small and precise gestures. Pertti Sveholm’s Max, on the other hand, is a benevolent jerk who, when the toast spills over, turns into a roaring rage whose meow still has something sympathetic in his meshing. Timo Torikka’s Simon is left with the role of initiator of the event – carefully acted and believable despair, which Torikkaa distributes precisely, accentuating every corner of the stands.
Our Lovely Women is an excellently compact one-and-a-half-hour film that, after a slightly stiff start, draws the viewers in, especially because of its excellent script. Timo Torikka is also responsible for its functional Finnish translation, which includes just the right amount of French lightness and Finnish brawl. The legendary Pengerkatu stage gets one more chapter to its illustrious history. This time, the statues will not be knocked down, but they don’t always have to. A skilful text, for which the working group has found the right sound, is a good reason to find its way to the Kallio district.