Review: Humiseva harju

In the theatre: Humming Ridge

From time to time, we also go to the theatre to see literary plays, and this time we had the pleasure of going to see the Helsinki City Theatre’s (HKT) play Emily Brontë’s Humming Grayling.* When you combine the experiences of two fans, you get a big dose of reflection, as below is one of the longest texts in our blog history – so the play really made an indelible impression on both of us.

For those who are not familiar with Brontë’s novel: The Humming Ridge , published in 1847, tells the story of Cathy, a wild child of nature, into whose family an orphan boy named Heathcliff is brought into her family in childhood. The boy is at least as wild and temperamental as Cathy, and the youngsters grow up together on the windy and barren moors of England. However, their tumultuous relationship is put to many tests due to class differences, and the story eventually develops into a tangle of revenge.

In deep waters

First of all, we want to say that huh huh. Helsinki City Theatre’s Humming Ridge still vibrates in our minds a couple of days after the performance. Emily Brontë’s book is one of those books that made a huge impression on both of us when we read it at the beginning of our studies. So far, the film adaptations have not succeeded in capturing our feelings, and we have been disappointed in the search. Before HKT’s play, we were both a bit skeptical, sure that the experience would once again be a bit of a, but Jo Clifford’s adaptation and the Finnish cast were able to surprise us.

Of course, every work always has its sides and sides, but all in all, HKT’s Humming Ridge beat all the films we remember in the intensity of emotions and the interpretation of the characters. The emotional bond between Cathy and Heathcliff was perhaps more effective on the stage of the theatre than on the screen. Rough events and the raw power of emotions come closer in theatre, where immersion is greater and the viewer feels absorbed into the events. The film versions have been too pure and focused on pathetic drama, whereas HKT’s play focuses on the psychology of the characters.
The adaptation also takes a much more psychological stance on the characters and their development than in the movies. It brings out in a tangible way how accident can be inherited, and bad deeds lead to bad deeds, and violence breeds violence. The feelings of jealousy, jealousy, bitterness, alienation, sensitivity, cruelty and love are condensed in a believable way in this three-hour session.

HKT’s Humming Ridge does not focus solely on the love between Heathcliff and Cathy, although the love story forms the focal point of the events. Instead, the play emphasizes the development of all the characters under the cross-pressure of unrequited love. In the end, the misery experienced by two people ruins many lives, which is emphasized by the play’s final setting.

In her review of Helsingin Sanomat, Sanna Kangasniemi states that the characters do not have the psychological depths written out in the narrative structure of the novel. However, we felt that it was precisely the lack of psychological depth that had made the film adaptations disappointing. The humming ridge as a novel resonates somewhere deep, and therefore the superficial depictions of the films have been overshadowed, but this is not the case in HKT’s play.

Connection to contemporary phenomena

HKT’s play has brought in elements, themes and problems from the present day, but it has nevertheless successfully held on to the book and its Victorian world. However, this conflict does not shatter, but the two worlds and eras flow smoothly between each other. In this way, it is also shown how well the novel Humiseva harju reflects our time. Above all, it is a timeless depiction of humanity, which is emphasized by the psychological approach of the atonement.

The humming ridge is not only a depiction of love, but also a story of freedom – or rather the lack of it. The horrific events of the play and the novel as well as the character development macabre highlight what happens when a person is imprisoned and denies their true desires and desires. The pain that ensues is not pretty to watch, but in Emily Brontë’s time, few people – especially women – could afford to choose.

The humming ridge is also contemporary in a way in the image of an equal woman. Although society tries to put Cathy in her place, Heathcliff doesn’t. Cathy and Heathcliff are one: both freedom-seeking, wild and temperamental. They are united by their mutual strangeness, but their position in the world is still different: where Cathy’s strangeness is framed in order to grow up to be a fine woman, Heathcliff’s low status makes her a real outsider in her strangeness. The depiction of being an outsider is a theme that is also present in today’s everyday life.

The play, like the novel, also highlights the fact that, despite the external setting and financial position, not everyone comes from the same starting point. When children are raised on a belt, like Cathy’s brother Hindley, their world is so broken from a young age that it is difficult to fix. Hindley, on the other hand, vents his feelings on the family’s foundling Heathcliff and later on alcohol.

Strong acting performances in a turmoil of emotions

The entire cast does an impressive job on the stage of Humiseva harju. Oona Airola manages to capture Cathy’s wild, free and ultimately imprisoned nature, and Cathy’s selfishness also springs from underneath. The hallucinations at the end are also presented credibly with the combined power of Airola and eerie visions. Especially in the second half of the play, Airola’s role work is impressive.

Cathy’s role as a strong woman is contrasted with Frances, Hindley’s wife, played by Vuokko Hovatta. The delicate and sensitive Frances is from a completely different world than the independent and stubborn Cathy, and the actors bring out this difference nicely with their own performances. Similarly, Martti Manninen, who plays Edgar, acts in a suitably caricature-like but believable manner, even eliciting a few laughs from the audience with his gestures.

Sonja Pajunoja, who delighted even as a little mermaid, gives a great performance as the naïve Isabella Linton, Matti Olavi Ranin is more than convincing as Earnshaw and Markku Haussila shows that he is not only brilliant at playing Hindley’s sometimes oppressive character, but also at singing. The song performed by Haussila in the second half elicited resounding applause from the audience. The servant Nelly has also been given a major role in the play as almost the only sensible character in the story, and Leena Rapola plays the part excellently.

However, the most invigorating performance is achieved by Markus Järvenpää’s Heathcliff, who is a difficult character to adopt. In various film adaptations, Heathcliff has remained almost invariably half-hearted, but Järvenpää still manages to portray Heathcliff’s fiery and cruelty, but also the sensitivity and outsider hidden underneath them. The harrowing emotions reach all the way to the audience and the actor’s whole being exudes Heathcliff’s feelings.

Simple staging supports psychological storytelling

The set design of the play has been kept relatively simple, which gives room for the emotions and psychology of the characters. In that sense, it is quite appropriate and supports the story well. Of course, the set design could have been a little more generous in the Victorian spirit, but on the other hand, being so simple, it leaves room for acting. The costumes modestly but nicely reflect the position, character and change of the characters.

The play is very physical. As mentioned, emotions are presented sparingly and the characters’ personalities are reflected in the actors’ physicality. Above all, physicality is evident when Cathy and Heathcliff run around the moors, and there is a lot of that in the play. However, it is an important element in character building. Nummi has been created with long stage structures, the sounds of the wind and slightly scary raven figures.

The soundscape of the work is also modest but appropriate. The sounds of violence and other rather dark elements are possibly too much for a more gentle viewer. However, there are not a huge number of them, but in essential places, but they are an indication of the immersion of theatre. There is a relatively large amount of singing in the play, and even though the actors were skilled singers, the occasional singing scenes could have been omitted, with a few exceptions: they were peculiar interruptions in a play that is not a musical.

Structure and progression of the work

All in all, HKT’s play is more macabre than Brontë’s novel. The play does not quite reach the point of revelry, but the starting point is clearly an even darker and rougher approach than in the original work. Towards the end, the play becomes even darker, which we remember from the book.

There were some strange elements in the play that were too artistic for our tastes. The stop-like scenes and some of the descriptions of dreams went a little over the top, but all in all, dreams play an important role in the work, so it’s great that they have been tackled mostly successfully.

One of the things missing from the structure is the fact that Heathcliff’s return is not explained in any way, and it is not clear to the viewer what Heathcliff is up to in the house on the humming ridge and how he got it under control. The novel sheds a little more light on this. Hanna was also annoyed that Cathy and Nelly’s conversation after Edgar’s proposal had been changed: Cathy’s opening up about her feelings for Heathcliff and the consequences of the scene are the most harrowing moments in the novel.

So the play was a positive experience in every way. After Tuesday’s workday, we both doubted how well the play would take us away – and we found out that very well! HKT’s Humming Ridge with its actors, great emotions and thought-provoking character stories was a truly captivating experience. So, if you’ve been disappointed time and time again with the film versions of this classic novel, you should head to the Helsinki City Theatre and see what you think.