Review: Isä

Life through the eyes of a person with a memory disorder – “Wild West vibes”

★  ★ ★ ★ ★ Arne is an endearing old man. There he is fumbling around looking for his wristwatch, as people with memory disorders tend to do.

But then strange things start to happen. They are all hatching something. They are looking for an apartment. They convince lies to be true. They steal the watch. They talk as if they were mentally retarded. They take all your belongings.

What’s going on here? Soon I’ll be naked and naked, and I don’t even know what time it is! Who am I? What am I doing here?

The play The Father by the Frenchman Florian Zeller has been described as a tragic farce and a black comedy. Fortunately, neither characterisation does justice to the fine interpretation of the Helsinki City Theatre, which takes us to the frightening core of the mind of a person with a memory disorder through understanding laughter.

Milko Lehto’s direction emphatically asks what the human self is made of. What happens to a person when they lose their grip on everyday life and the world starts to disappear around them? What are the things that are meaningful and important in the end? What does meaningfulness in life mean at different stages of a memory disorder?

Humour is one way of dealing with a memory disorder, and laughter can be liberating, but in this performance, the comedy is bubbling with moderation and empathy.

I don’t know at all what’s going on here.

Studio Pasila’s premiere emphasizes the perspective of a person with a memory disorder and manages to make this a very personal experience for the viewer.

When I think about what on earth is going on in the play, I can identify with Arne’s world and experience at least a glimpse of its oppressive absurdity. Janne Siltavuori’s set design supports the illusion handsomely.

In the lead role of Arne, Jari Pehkonen’s eyes reflect heart-pounding pain and the distress and confusion caused by the illness in his entire being. When a person with a memory disorder is restless and irritable, they try to communicate their thoughts and needs with the means available to them at that stage of the disease. Here, Pehkonen does a handsome role.

The play takes into account that a memory disorder is also a crisis for the relatives of the sufferer. Genuine encounters with a loved one and the treatment of a person with a memory disorder require skill, sensitivity and a great understanding of the person. Arne’s daughter (Vuokko Hovatta) does everything she can but has a nightmare in which she strangles her father. When his spouse asks if they could at least talk about some other topic, the conversation immediately returns to Arne’s care.

“The Wild West vibe,” Arne comments on the way of life around him. All the same, the disease progresses irreversibly until I miss my mother anymore. Time is merciful.

On stage, the lights dim. However, the story does not end. Around the world, every seven seconds, one of us falls ill with a memory disorder.