Review: Humiseva harju

Theatre review: Helsinki City Theatre’s interpretation of the Humming Ridge permanently pushes something in your gut to the wrong place

You can enjoy the performance even if you haven’t read Emily Brontë’s novel.

Emily Brontë’s only novel, The Humming Ridge, is one of the best-known and respected English classics. This spring, the main stage of the Helsinki City Theatre will be transformed into Yorkshire moorlands and the setting of a stormy story.

Cathy’s (Oona Airola) childhood takes a new turn when her father brings home the orphaned Heathcliff (Markus Järvenpää). The young boy is scared at first, but Cathy quickly wins his trust. Soon Heathcliff and Cathy are inseparable, and they run around the moors, free and happy.

However, life does not lead the duo towards a happy ending and a happy marriage. Although love has begun to smoulder between the young people, different backgrounds eventually guide Cathy to choose another man for herself.

The humming ridge of the Helsinki City Theatre is raw, primitive and powerful. It clicks something in the gut permanently in the wrong place. In that way, nicely, but a little painfully. Tears cannot be avoided in front of the fierce performance. In fact, even after the applause, the crying almost bursts out again for a surprise visit.

A ramp has been built from the stage in the middle of the auditorium, along which the actors run accompanied by a huge thump. Sometimes I’m afraid that one of the actors will fall on the audience’s neck. The atmosphere is wild and immediate, especially at the beginning of the play, there is a feeling that anything can happen.

The three-hour performance includes a few slightly exhausting scenes. On the other hand, hardly anyone could endure the huge emotional turmoil of the Humming Ridge without small breaks.

The Humming Ridge is a play that is definitely worth watching. And don’t worry, even if you haven’t read the classic book yet, the performance is sure to grab everyone so strongly that sometimes you find yourself sitting right at the front edge of the seat, trembling with excitement.