Review: Fanny ja Alexander

Fanny and Alexander @ Helsinki City Theatre

Fanny (Elena Leeve) and her brother Alexander (Olavi Uusivirta) are young members of the colourful, open and warm Ekdahl family, who follow the work of their mother Emilie (Anna-Maija Tuokko) and father Oscar (Pekka Huotari) and the rest of the family in the theatre, peek into the relationship twists and turns of many aunts and uncles, eavesdrop on adult stories, enjoy the stories they are told, tell stories themselves and live a childhood full of joy, imagination and freedom to be curious, smart and yourself.

But then the father dies and the mother remarries. Bishop Edward Vergerus (Eero Aho) takes his new wife and her two children to live with him, and it doesn’t take long for everything familiar and good to be just a memory. The rules are strict, mistakes are severely punished, and nothing is improving. The new life is horrible, especially for Alexander, who becomes the bishop’s eyeball. But even though a happy childhood and freedom seem lost, there is still a glimmer of hope, strong and encouraging.

I haven’t seen Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander or read the novel, but I knew the main story and had already heard enthusiastic comments about the theatre performance, so I was looking forward to this. HKT’s Fanny and Alexander has been directed and adapted by Paavo Westerberg, Bergman’s novel has been translated into Finnish by Elina Hytönen and the dramaturg of the stage version is Henna Piirto. The set design is by Antti Mattila, the costumes are by Anna Sinkkonen, the lighting design is by William Iles and the composition is by Sanna Salmenkallio, and the sound design is by Salmenkallio and Jaakko Virmavirta. The camouflage was made by Jaana Nykänen. The performance is comprehensively impressive and powerful, which is thanks to the fact that every aspect has been successfully implemented. In the script, the director writes about how the premiere originally planned for 2020 did not arrive until now, two years later, so the planning process for Fanny and Alexander has been unusually long. So I would assume that every solution has been considered and considered to the last detail so that the end result is completely complete in all respects. And so it is. With the intermission, the performance lasted a quarter of an hour to four hours, but in the case of this play, there is not a single minute of unnecessarily stretched moment. The plot doesn’t move very fast and the pace is surprisingly calm from start to finish, but you won’t get bored for a moment. Director Westerberg has been able to read the mood, levels and nuances under the surface of the performance accurately, and Fanny and Alexander definitely deserves its lengthy duration. In this way, it rolls onto the stage without rushing and reaches its full bloom, every feeling, thought and moment is given just the right amount of time to make an impression. Westerberg’s direction uses the big stage to the brim, and on the big stage, the big story comes into its own. Salmenkallio’s composition and his and Virmavirta’s sound design play an important role in telling the story, and I really liked the versatility of the music and how the sound design makes some scenes really oppressive and oppressive. The story of Fanny and Alexander is quite wild, and it has a lot of dark themes. The performance does not avoid these themes, but everything, both good and bad, is present on stage. However, because imagination is strongly involved in the story, not everything is shown directly, which is a good solution. And not everything is gloomy and dark, but it is also joyful, warm and hopeful.

Antti Mattila’s clear-lined, impressive set design can be used in many ways and rotates around the stage boldly and impressively. The set design manages to make the venues intimate and limited, colourful and boisterous, gloomy and resonant, safe and familiar, and alien and frightening. Together with William Iles’ sharp and precise lighting design, the set design delights and catches the eye at several points, it both works well as a part of the story and looks handsome. The lighting design is often incredibly dramatic, and the drama and sharpness of the stage images are emphasized, especially in the scenes that take place in the bishop’s house. Anna Sinkkonen’s costume design has a wonderful variety of styles from many periods, such as a Christmas sweater, everyday T-shirts, dresses and nightgowns that fit the era, a wide variety of robes and glittery pieces of clothing. However, the versatile clothing catalog fits together and supports the storytelling nicely. The Ekdahl family dresses colorfully, uniquely and freely, and reduces their clothes if they feel like it. At the bishop’s house, on the other hand, the tones are gloomy, the clothes restrained and the unity is strict. This can be seen in the visuals in general, and of course also in the characters, but it doesn’t feel glued on or emphasized, but on the contrary, it only makes it even more painful to know how happy and happy everything was at first and how miserable everything then becomes. Great, well-defined visuals throughout the presentation, and a lot of fascinating details as well.

The actors perform convincing and nuanced roles, bringing the performance’s diverse cast of characters to the stage in a relaxed and skillful manner. I was especially happy that I finally got to see Elena Leeve on the theater stage, I have liked her movie and TV roles a lot, but I had never seen theater roles before this. Leeve makes a great role full of nuances, Fanny is an interesting character, and so are her relationships with Alexander and her position in the story. Leeve’s role work is detailed and successful, sometimes understated and sometimes abundant, he beautifully depicts Fanny’s feelings and thoughts and carries the girl’s story throughout the play with a confident grip. Olavi Uusivirta’s Alexander is just the right match for Leeve’s Fanny. It was also nice to see Uusivirta back on the theatre stage so quickly, the last time I saw him as Hamlet at the National Theatre was a couple of months ago. And there was a bit of Hamlet in Alexander as well, as a child of a theatre family, he knows many roles. Uusivirta has a successful approach to his role, and a subtle way of reading how Alexander reacts to situations. Since the children are played by adults, their age is not so precisely defined in the performance (or if it was, I missed it), but childhood, adolescence and safety are themes that are clearly visible in both Uusivirta’s and Leeve’s roles. The same goes for the breaking and breaking of these themes, how even children are not safe from evil, but directly as its targets. Uusivirta and Leeve depict Fanny and Alexander’s growth story, relying on each other and relying on their imagination in a touching and genuine way. Just as Alexander and Fanny support each other, the actors also support each other’s roles in growing to be shocking and impactful.

Anna-Maija Tuokko is an excellent Emilie, a multi-layered character whom Tuokko carries through the story in a subtle and harrowing way. He brings Emilie’s emotions close to the viewer in a powerful but still completely believable way. Eero Aho’s Edward is cruel and cold, just on the verge of the character being “just” evil and nothing else. However, Aho manages to unearth other layers in the bishop than just his cruelty, and the role is impressive. Aho skillfully plays together with the other actors, and it is precisely the way the performers work together that guarantees that the tormenting scenes are so torturous. And on the other hand, the fact that in the happy scenes, the joy bubbles up quickly, and in the exciting scenes, the pulse quickens even in the audience. The entire ensemble is so present and awake in their roles that all the nuances of the performance are reached and attention is not lost on stage for a moment. It was also nice to see Rauno Ahonen on stage, I’ve seen him in the theatre before, but it’s always a pleasure to follow Ahonen’s work, and he does a successful role as Aron. Veera Anttila made an impression, she plays Maj confidently and charmingly, and she brings details to her character fluently. Pekka Huotari’s Oscar is a captivating, funny and nice looking man who you like right from the first moments. Sanna-June Hyde does a really great role as Lydia, as does Jari Pehkonen as Carl and Santeri Kinnunen as Gustav Adolf. Emmi Pesonen is also mentioned, both in the role of the fascinating and a little scary Ismael and as a kind of narrator, quite a good job.

Fanny and Alexander sparked a lot of thoughts, and there is plenty to think about for a long time. The play has a lot of levels and a lot of characters, and that’s only a good thing about this performance. Because the performance is given time to process its themes and events, it does not feel crowded but serves up a lot of interesting things. There are the differences and boundaries between the world of adults and children, the use of power and breaking and punishing others, the twists and turns of relationships, heartaches and joys, the play and security of the imagination, parties and everyday life, youth and old age, family photography, and many other things. The play has been staged with deliberation and skill down to every detail, so you can properly enjoy a convincing spoken word play in the audience. Admittedly, it’s a bit difficult to enjoy when the story moves in such dark and deep waters, but it does make an impression when a big story is told so successfully. And of course, you always enjoy great acting and amazing visuals, no matter what the subject. So it was great to sit in the audience and watch how this family saga is built on stage, because the performance is so professionally executed and loaded with subtle nuances in all aspects. A multi-layered, rough, beautiful, terrifying and delicate play that goes through good and evil and does it strongly. This would require at least a second viewing to get the most out of it, but after just one time, my mind is full of pondering about the performance and its themes. When all areas are certain, the end result is usually quite good, and when there is also “that something”, some extra gear, then we are on top of things. And that’s what Fanny and Alexander really are.