Review: Palvelija

The audience was sold out

When a master of observing human nature and sarcasm writes a text for the uncrowned king of monologues and transformation, the expectation of a theatrical evening is close to the ceiling. Just the thought of Kari Hotakainen and Martti Suosalo’s collaboration made the corners of my mouth twitch irresistibly towards my ears. And expectations were met in the premiere of The Servant on the Arena stage on Thursday evening. So much so that already in the first half, the packed theater hall joined in singing a hymn under Suosalo’s leadership!

In the spotlight of the stage, Suosalo transforms from a police officer to a midwife, from a priest to a mental health nurse and from a hairdresser to a son in a minimalist way and in the blink of an eye, blowing character into each character in a way that only Suosalo can. Hotakainen’s text is an unscrupulously accurate and exhilaratingly apt observation of all the things that the nature of a person with a service attitude stretches to and what happens when it finally breaks.

Until now, Suosalo’s success monologues have been written by foreign writers. It remains to be seen whether Hotakainen’s text will become as long-lasting a favourite as Rob Becker’s The Caveman or Nikolai Gogol’s Diary of a Madman, both of which Suosalo still performs. At least the start is promising. The audience was sold.