Review: Pullo cavaa ja aurinkoa
Theatre review: A Bottle of Cava and the Sun is a celebration of a wonderful group of women
Excellent actors steal the show in the play A Bottle of Cava and Sun on the Arena stage of the Helsinki City Theatre.
The premise of the play is already interesting: there are four women in the main roles, and which actors: Eija Vilpas, Heidi Herala, Jaana Saarinen and Aino Seppo. The easy-going characters give the actors the opportunity to tear up a little. The bright stars easily keep the audience in their grip, and Vilpas and Saarinen in particular seem to really enjoy their fast-paced roles and make the most of them.
A Bottle of Cava and the Sun takes place in Portugal and in a magnificent old house, which Inka (Heidi Herala) dreams of being the home of a group of four women in their old age. The other women in the group – Vonne (Jaana Saarinen), Anita (Eija Vilpas) and Tuulia (Aino Seppo) – know nothing about Inka’s dreams. They imagine that they will only arrive in Portugal for the group’s annual art trip. However, Inka is in a hurry to get the money together so that she can pay the architect (Maija Lang). There will be a variety of drama and even fast-paced picture shops, and there will even be dancing at times. Sauli Suonpää is seen in a double role as Carlos, the wife of architect Laura, and Oula, a wealthy man from the north, in which role he gets to loosen up a bit.
Helena Anttonen’s text laughs jokes, but also ponders serious things as if in passing – for example, that when a person has no husband or children, who will carry their coffin? However, the strongest theme that runs through the play is friendship between women, where emotions are sometimes aired, but which lasts year after year.