Review: Älä pukeudu päivälliselle

Dinner is served on the Arena stage without dressing up

What happens when there is a man’s mistress in the house at the same time, a wife’s lover who is also the man’s best friend and cook, and, of course, a wife and husband? It is set in Helsinki City Theatre’s farce Don’t Dress for Dinner, which has delighted and made audiences laugh on the Arena stage this spring.

The farce, which is tuned to its peak, offers its audience comedy for all the money and the nerves of laughter are put to the test. A very funny play has been made from a serious topic, betrayal, in which you don’t know at all from which door the next bomb will fall.

The enjoyment is increased by the fact that the actors who are perfectly suited to the roles in the play have been chosen. Pertti Sveholm as a man who is at the same time a jovial husband and at the same time extremely in love with a young woman who has managed to wrap the old man around her little dick.

The wife of Matti, played by Sveholm, is played by the noble Jonna Järnefelt as Linda. At the same time, Linda is jealous of her husband Matti’s mistress when she hears about it, but at the same time, she herself has a game of black grouse with Matti’s best friend Harri.

Harri, played by Pekka Strang, has had a fight with Linda, secretly from Matti, of course. Certain events also cause Linda to be jealous of Harri. Chef Janita brings her own concoction to the soup, interpreted by Katja Küttner. And the soup wouldn’t taste like anything if it wasn’t spiced up with Matti’s mistress Janita (Sanna-June Hyde) and the chef’s husband Micke (Joachim Wigelius).

Don’t Dress for Dinner on the Arena stage offers its viewer an evening that truly frees everyday life from all worries and sorrows. When the viewer steps out of the auditorium, all worries are gone and can just enjoy a couple of hours of laughter therapy. The actors, directed by Jaakko Saariluoma, have made your evening perfect.

Don’t dress up for dinner will run on the Arena stage until mid-May, and Viihteen Olohuone gives a very serious recommendation to attend this dinner.