Review: Hertta ja Olavi

The magnificent frequency of Hertta and Olavi’s small dodges

Olavi Paavolainen’s reputation as a ladies’ man is probably quite familiar, at least through Helvi Hämäläinen’s public confessions. Paavolainen was an intellectual man of the world who knew the means of charming. Less well known is his relationship with Member of Parliament Hertta Kuusinen.

The Helsinki City Theatre now has the opportunity to taste a piece of that secret relationship through the play Hertta and Olavi, written by Juha Vakkuri. And the piece is delicious. I don’t remember seeing such a description of delayed passion.
The opening music of the performance is Lensky’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, in which the protagonist agonizes over past youth and the difficulty of love. Music probably has a double meaning as a choice of music for a play. On the one hand, it releases the feelings of the aging Paavolainen, who has lost his creative power, but partly it takes the recipient to our eastern neighbour, where Hertta Kuusinen has an important bond. And with Tchaikovsky, the play also ends, the circle closes.
The events begin with a long dialogue between Paavolainen and his psychiatrist, in which the protagonist’s relationship with words and their meanings becomes concrete. The man’s gaze and sensory horns are sensitive. A hint of the tearing of the soul is given through the interpretation of dreams. The mother’s son has a long way to go into the man’s world.
The precision and simplicity of Pekka Laiho’s psychiatrist’s wise gazes and expressions emphasise the significance of the small movements of the entire arc of the play. Already during the long pauses in the opening scene, the level of spirit with which Vakkuri’s play moves is measured.
Oskari Torvinen’s magnificent set design is built on the inner images of things that are important to Paavolainen. The structures referring to the Parliament House are in front of the taut ropes. The stage is like a nervous system tuning, among which Paavolainen has to wrestle his own wrestling.
Maija Pekkanen’s costumes stylize the set as an equal next to the scarcity. The spirit of modernism exudes pure.

Overwhelming dialogue

Hannu Lauri’s Olavi Paavolainen is a surrendering work that combines precise timing with the wonderful madness of throwing oneself into it. The sneering, gentle, begging and self-observing man sways in the waves of creative pain and emotional conflicts. Silver Gin softens the sharpest edges of dark days. Women call their hero like sirens.

Lauri’s exhausted prince is a breathtaking role in its sensitivity.
Petteri Sallinen’s direction is dense and captivating. It doesn’t let emotions run wild in plain sight, and that’s its strength. The meaning of almost touches, almost kisses, but actions avoided at the last minute repeats the theme of pent-up emotions in a secret relationship.
Risto Heikkerö’s lighting lives closely according to the moods. Soft red-green shapes alternate with sharp blue-red ice spike patterns.
The real dramatic tension is the relationship between Hertta and Olavi, although the presence of the young Raili from the Radio Theatre in love with Paavolainen runs alongside it.
Satu Silvo’s Hertta surrenders to the relationship with a bold touch of reason and emotion. Touched by Paavolainen, an adult woman experiences for the first time the all-consuming power of eroticism and accepts it despite political conflicts.
Hertta and Olavi’s intertwining is not a prison-like bond, but one full of understanding and gentle wisdom. Passion is left unshown, but it is omnipresent. The dialogue between Lauri and Silvo is sharp and expectant.
Sari Haapamäki doesn’t quite reach the intensity of the other actors, and her Raili is papery in places.
As a whole, the play is an absolute event of the season. Not necessarily because of the reality of their characters, but specifically because of their dramatic tension. A beautiful, absolutely wise play.

PIRJO PUUKKO

Juha Vakkuri: Hertta and Olavi. Director: Petteri Sallinen. Set design: Oskari Torvinen. Costumes: Maija Pekkanen. Lights: Risto Heikkerö. Voice: Antero Mansikka. Cast: Hannu Lauri, Satu Silvo, Pekka Laiho and Sari Haapamäki. Premiere on the small stage of the Helsinki City Theatre on 13.3.2003.