Review: Asmodeus ja 1313 sielua

Asmodeus and 1313 souls The Helsinki City Theatre is home to one of Juha Hurme’s many masterpieces. Hurme finds old, supposedly forgotten works and conjures up a play that is more than topical in front of our eyes.

Now the discovery is Runar Schildt’s (1888-1925) short story Asmodeus and Thirteen Souls. The story is based on betting. Asmodeus is in a well-respected position in the Underworld, but not important enough in his own opinion. To show his excellence, Asmodeus makes a bet.

I will travel to Helsinki, settle anywhere, and within three days I will be able to get a dozen people, regardless of their rank and position, to bequeath their souls to us in writing. (Need I remind you that in the Underworld, a dozen means thirteen?).

In both the short story and the play, Asmodeus performs his task. In the play directed by Hurme, the first half takes place in 1913 in Hell and Helsinki, and the second half in 2026 in Hell and Lahti, where the capital has been moved due to the Flood. The latter part of the play was written by Juha Hurme. This time, Asmodeus needs 1300 signatures to give him an immortal soul.

The first half of the play is a swindler’s hilarious tinkering and a mockery of the pettiness of us selfish people. Asmodeus (the wonderful Vappu Nalbantoglu) will charm anyone. His ruthlessness knows no bounds, but neither does his charm.

On the small stage of the City Theatre, the characters and scenes change at a tight pace. In the recesses of their souls, the viewer is forced to wonder if we are really so easily seduced. When we get what we want, we hope, we do anything. The story, based on Runar Schildt’s text, spoke to me almost more than the description of the present.

The play is above all a charming and stunning masterpiece by Vappu Nalbantoglu. The other actors performed their many roles well, many roles were done meticulously and fine-tuned in detail. The force that held the performance together was the music and its performers: bassist Ville Herrala and cellist Piia Komsi. The music was composed by Petra Poutanen, but according to the script, the musical design of the scenes and the composition of additional music, the arrangement and improvisation of the music were the work of the musicians.