Review: Humiseva harju
This love story doesn’t have a happy ending – Emily Brontë wrote a tragic story full of strong emotion
The only novel by the Englishman Emily Brontë (1818–1848) was The Humming Ridge. The novel reflects his childhood. Her mother died of cancer when Emily was only 3 years old, and two siblings died of typhoid fever and tuberculosis.
The family lived in seclusion in the vicarage, raised by their father and strict aunt. The moors of Haworth set the stage for the four siblings’ games and self-invented stories.
Emily’s book Humiseva harju has also been shaped on this basis, and a play based on it and directed by Lauri Maijala is currently being performed at the Helsinki City Theatre. Both the book and the play emphasize nature and harrowing losses, as well as a violent, loveless environment in which she grew up.
In the play, Catherine “Cathy” and Hindley are joined in the house when their father brings home a beggar boy. The boy’s arrival in the house does not go without mishaps: Hindley mocks, mocks and oppresses the boy whenever he can’t see it.
The strap just whizzes when the father beats his son, but there doesn’t seem to be any harmony between the boys. His father sends Hindley to boarding school.
Cathy and a beggar boy named Heathcliff enjoy each other and fall in love with each other. It’s wonderful to run around the moors just the two of you. Cathy and Heathcliff are like wild people, wild and free.
After his father dies, Hindley returns home and brings his wife with him. Hindley is now the master and there will be new rules for the house. He quickly takes revenge on Heathcliff, who is now considered a farmhand and a manure collector. Every violation results in blows.
The situation escalates so that Cathy agrees to propose to the neighbor’s boy, with the intention of helping Heathcliff in the process. He thought he could take his beloved away from the Humming Ridge with him.
However, Heathcliff is deeply hurt by Cathy’s marriage and begins to take revenge on both Hindley and the neighbor’s siblings. Through other people, Heathcliff also gets revenge on Cathy at the same time.
It’s hard to show affection
The play is very tragic, full of strong emotions and physicality: there is running, rampage and fighting on the moors. Tenderness and love are difficult to say with words and show with actions. The whip whizzes and the palm strikes much more smoothly.
It’s wild to watch Hindley beat his little child. Each character in turn seems to be bruised and covered in blood.
The feeling of desolation is also well described by the village doctor (Rauno Ahonen), who seems to be death itself. A man who goes to booze and walks around in black is only called in when the person is dying. As a “medicine bag”, the doctor has a plastic bag with a death cross on it.
The moorland-like humid climate takes away the women of the families, a harsh cough kills, and the dwellings of that time were not very warm either.
The entire role of Rauno Ahonen is one of the bright spots of the evening. It brings a bit of humour to an otherwise tough play.
The “ragged clothes” in the costumes reflect very little means, the tangled hair even indifference. The set design is also excellent. The road to the moor, which leads to the rows of seats in the stands, works great, and the ridge standing on the stage is brilliantly versatile in its simplicity.
Strong young actors
There are several strong performances in the play. Heathcliff (Markus Järvenpää), Cathy (Oona Airola) and Hindley (Markku Haussila) are the play’s breathtakingly strong trio.
The most painful thing to watch in the play is Heathcliff’s despair and grief, which are heartbreaking. Not to mention Cathy’s strong personality, which starts to crumble towards the end, and Hindley’s hard downward spiral after his wife died. Their role work requires a lot: there is emotion and downright acrobatic movements.
Sonja Pajunoja’s role as Isabella is wildly excellent. The giggling and infatuated girl transforms from a prostitute-style gothic girl into a grumpy wife. In addition, Sonja sings really beautifully. Her flute-like bright voice touches you deeply.
Musician Mikko Helenius uses a variety of different instruments, from a small bandoneón that resembles an accordion to a grand piano, and participates a little in the play himself. I love this kind of masterful playing and live music in the theatre.