Review: Oscar ja Mamma Roosa

Oscar’s life
– worthy of a song

Great understanding, gentle humour and poetry are exuded by the French best-selling author Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s stage work Oscar and Mamma Roosa, which had its Finnish premiere on 11 May. Helsinki City Theatre. As a stage, the intimate studio Elsa was excellent for telling the story; Something memorable was realized in the atmosphere, as if the theatre had returned far back to its origins in the sphere of powerful shared experiences. The suggestion-like concentration was also facilitated by the music and Jyrki Karttunen’s delightful dreamlike choreography, whose bright movement vocabulary literally overflowed with hope and light.

Perhaps the most amazing thing is that as inevitably as death approaches the central character of the story, ten-year-old Oscar, the grief is not given in. Mamma Roosa’s message was that some people’s lives just pass on an accelerated schedule and that even a short life can contain a lot of joy and love.

Especially in the case of a child, a terminal illness is something that is almost impossible to talk about. Families and little patients become anxious. The author has wanted to break this taboo in the light of his own experiences. He says that even as a child, his father’s profession introduced him to a world where “normal was not in line with the norms, where illness was considered normal and good health was considered an exception”.

Eija-Elina Bergholm as the director and Kristiina Elstelä as the interpreter are on the same level of sensitivity. The narrative becomes hilarious. In her roles, Elstelä is both an intelligent, lively little boy and his elderly, wise caregiver.

Oscar admires Mamma Roosa and her “sporting achievements” and uncomplicated way of looking at things. Mamma Roosa, on the other hand, has not only a big imagination but also a heart so big that it can accommodate other people’s worries as well.

In both roles, Elstelä’s expression is nuanced and enjoyable, the actor’s temperament is allowed to unravel deliciously, and the rapid transformation and fine-tuning are also on point.

Trusting in Mamma Roosa’s encouragement, Oscar decides to go through the final stretch of his young life as if he were getting more years every day. That’s how puberty and adolescence with falling in love are fast, and luckily there is no shortage of infatuations in the hospital. As he gets older, Oscar’s reflections are perhaps too clever for a child’s train of thought in places…

Elstelä easily finds the little boy’s shyness, defiance and defiance, she replies without pressure and avoids the pretense that often lurks next to her when an adult takes on the role of a child. On the other hand, she is Mamma Roosa, a mature adult, who still empathizes with her task in a funny and friendly way rather than in a motherly way.

A slight burden of the premiere was partly poor reception, the most annoying of which was at the beginning of the performance. However, this is a fact that is guaranteed to be corrected in the future. The praise from the premiere audience was impressive, and they were also witnessed by the guest of honor, author Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.