Review: Fingerpori

Fingerpori bends to the theatre stage

When the walls started to fall on me last weekend, this week was more than a salvation. Many times, and now there is tiredness in the air, but I live and breathe. Culture is the best, and there are many posts to come, but let’s start with the latest cultural activity. I could almost swear that not many Finns have been able to avoid bumping into Fingerpori. To that crazy funny comic strip, where it usually happens that a person is misunderstood in one way or another. Often in such a way that the other party’s comment is something obscene. The man behind the comic is Pertti Jarla and Petja Lähde is responsible for the script of the theatre version. Thank you, Helsinki City Theatre, for receiving or including this in your repertoire.

The mayor of Fingerpori, Homelius (Antti Timonen), is in trouble. Fingerpori is to be annexed to Helsinki. This must be prevented at all costs. Homelius calls Heimo Vesa (Jari Pehkonen) to help him and gives him the task of filming a video diary of life in Fingerpori and the inhabitants of the town. With the help of the video diary, decision-makers can be convinced that Fingerpori must remain an independent city of its own. However, filming is not easy. The city’s residents don’t know how to be natural in front of the camera. Fortunately, Pahani Julmu (Pekka Huotari) has a way for Heimo Vesa to succeed in his mission.

So help, what guys we saw on stage! Really, just like the comic book itself. Jari Pehkonen in the role of Heimo Vesa is a natural choice. A calm guy who doesn’t flinch at the slightest. Since Pehkonen is in the lead role, he has no other roles than Heimo Vesa. The other actors, on the other hand, have plenty of roles. Pekka Huotari is absolutely incredible. Whatever role Huotari played on stage sparked laughter. For me, perhaps the ones that struck me best were the Urinary Stone Man with his crazy rolling eyes and Asko Vilenius, who is more than happy to open his poplaria. Antti Timonen in the role of Homelius is top-notch. A self-righteous activist whose speeches almost always end up in the headlines. The role of Rivo-Riitta is as if made for Sanna Saarijärvi. A bold and articulate woman who knows what men are talking about, or at least what men mean. What about Leenamari Unho, who giggles on stage in her button-down shirt and hangovers? Needless to say, she is Hangover Day.

Fingerpori has been directed by Pertti Sveholm. The man has done a great job of bringing the comic to life on stage. I didn’t really delve into the creators of the play before the performance itself, so now in retrospect it’s easy to laugh at the play’s joke that referred to Sveholm. I also liked how the videos were used in the play. A bit of a cartoonish surface, but also some real picture of the real world. Thank you Mika Haaranen and Jaakko Sirainen. You have done a great job. However, Elina Vättö is a woman who has managed to conjure up the costumes of the cartoon characters into real clothes. There must have been a lot of work to be done, but great work has been done.

Here is a play that is definitely funny and hilarious. The viewer can only throw themselves into the play and laugh at the hilarious characters and crazy scenes. Personally, I can say that I laughed out loud in all the juicy parts of the play. However, if someone wants to look for something else in Fingerpori, there is also political satire. The play also includes very topical news topics, and the comic side of them has also been found. And if you really want to think about the really profound ones, the subject of the play is somewhat heated, when municipal mergers from all over the world are being planned and the small ones are being left out.

Fingerpori is a play for which you should book tickets right away, because I somehow have an itch that the performances will be sold out. I’m so happy that comics are really alive, and Finnish comics at that. It is also worth mentioning that Fingerpori will also be seen on the big screen in the coming autumn. However, the cast is completely different from the Helsinki City Theatre’s version.

Fingerpori premiered at the Helsinki City Theatre’s Studio Pasila on Thursday 7 February 2019.