Review: Jerusalem
Helsinki City Theatre’s Jerusalem asks whether England really is the promised land.
Jez Butterworth’s acclaimed play Jerusalem from 2009 premiered at the Helsinki City Theatre on 1 February 2024. Jerusalem has been chosen as the best play of the 2000s in several votes, and it has been a stimulus for social debate.
When I noticed Jerusalem in the Helsinki City Theatre’s repertoire, I assumed that the play had something to do with Jerusalem in Israel. I also wondered if the current situation in Gaza had been known when the programme was chosen.
But it is a “new Jerusalem” that refers to a paradise-like place on earth. This land of happiness is sung in the Jerusalem hymn, which is also called England’s second national anthem, along with God Save The King. The lyrics of the Jerusalem hymn are from a poem by William Blake (1757-1825):
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?
Bring me my bow of burning gold
Bring me my arrows of desire
Bring me my spear, O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire.
I will not cease from mental fight
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land.
The Jerusalem Drama
The first view is impressive. A huge English flag has been hoisted on the stage. The same red and white that you see, for example, as the emblem of the England national football team or which is known as the Cross of St. George, the patron saint of England.
Behind the flag is a caravan, a ball grill, plastic chairs, a broken sofa, a refrigerator and all kinds of other ragged junk.
Before the events of the play begin, a fairy-like maiden (Mitra Matouf) emerges, as if straight out of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, who sings the hymn of Jerusalem in heaven. He doesn’t get any further than the first verse, when the sound space is grabbed by a rattle that we suspected to be Pussy Riot’s music. We were immediately alert in the stands, a contradiction right from the start, great!
The initial setting will soon become clear. In a caravan in the middle of the forest lives fifty-year-old Johnny “Rooster” Byron (Santeri Kinnunen), who is threatened with eviction. A new area of detached houses has sprung up next to the forest, and its inhabitants do not want Mr. Byron’s kingdom next door. Quite understandable, because the night before, for example, there was a party in Byron’s camp that even the host himself doesn’t remember anything about. It is clear that the liquor has flowed and drugs have been smuggled in such a way that gradually hungover, drowsy young people begin to crawl from under the tarpaulins.
However, Rooster Byron is not startled by a little. He is a former murderer, a perpetrator of legendary stunts, once even dead. The stories related to him are so epic that there is hardly even one side of the truth. When Rooster Byron opens his mouth, the responsibility shifts to the listener.
However, one thing is clear: no one orders Rooster Byron. Twenty years earlier, he had parked his caravan with his own permission in the forest, where his laws apply. A mixed bag of young people, an old professor (Joachim Wigelius) and the owner of the pub (Jouko Klemettilä) are welcome. Byron always has something to offer and someone to talk to, no one asks if you are old enough.
The whole play revolves around Rooster Byron. He is on duty around the clock in his camp, which is visited by the authorities, enemies and Byron’s little boy and his mother. Byron can survive almost everything by talking until he is faced with the necessary.
More than three hours of talk
Jerusalem is a spoken word play that lasts more than three hours (one intermission, one intermission). Jez Butterworth’s text is delicious and witty, and the dramaturg of the work, Ari-Pekka Lahti, has translated the text into Finnish to suit the Finnish mouth. There is always something going on, so despite its height, Jerusalem has a great grip.
I love spoken word plays! I thought I recognized references to one or the other work, but Jez Butterworth said in a YouTube interview that she has not deliberately placed any quotes or references in the play. He is so marinated in English culture that the subconscious may have fed him with similarities. He also said that Rooster Byron has a living role model.
There are plenty of possibilities for interpretation in Jerusalem . Do you want to see the division of society into disadvantaged “Byron residents” and better-off detached house dwellers? In which world do young people feel better, in both they take drugs? The play also provides an opportunity to look for similarities between Rooster Byron and Jesus, as Byron, according to his own story, was born of a virgin. He also “lets the children come to him,” that is, he gives all his “disciples” in his camp an approving look. It is some kind of local rite to drink a few years before adulthood in Byron’s camp.
Of course, the text also has its questionable parts. The stories are often outrageously chauvinistic, as Rooster Byron brags about his sexual adventures. The ban from the pub will be lifted as long as he just pinches the pub hostess. However, you get the feeling that he has a strong sense of justice for young people, that he is really trying to raise them in his own way and wishes Lee (Alexander Wendelin), for example, who is going to Australia, all the best. Of course, this idea is strongly contradicted by the fact that he sells drugs to young people.
Santeri Kinnunen IS Rooster Byron
I don’t know what has happened to Santeri Kinnunen, but it’s as if some kind of peace has descended on his acting. I already paid attention to this in The Mousetrap, but now, as the main character of Jerusalem, he was as into the role of Rooster Byron as can be. No unnecessary mannerisms or easy courting of the audience, but precise, sensitive and subtle interpretation. Kinnunen makes the relaxed lovable, or at least really human. He is believably an annoying foul-mouthed, an unpredictable alcoholic, a chauvinist and a drug dealer, but he often has a gentle gaze and a fair mind.
The play ends with a monologue by Santeri Kinnunen, during which his presence was strongly conveyed to the audience. You could have listened to him for a long time, of course, because of the content, but also because of his interpretation. When Santeri Kinnunen drummed the golden drum, read a spell, listed the ancestors of the Byron family and summoned giants and spirits to his own army, it felt like it could really happen: the magical world of the theatre was open. Bravo!
Alexander Wendelin does a top job
Jerusalem is very balanced under Pasi Lampela’s direction. The direction was stylish and ungimmicky, probably looking very much like the original, modern-day classic. The start, the transitions, the ending were impressive.
Many had demanding speaking roles and the whole ensemble kept up well. Among the young people, I would like to highlight the role of Alexander Wendelin. I saw him in Lillan’s Röda rummet in the autumn in a very different role, and that’s why it was wonderful to see his interpretation of a sensitive and lost young man whose wings may or may not carry him.
The other roles were played by Rauno Ahonen, Lumi Aunio, Minni Gråhn, Markus Järvenpää, Jouko Klemettilä, Merja Larivaara, Alvar Lisko, Betadi Mandunga, Mitra Matouf, Ursula Salo, Niilo Sämpi, Mikko Virtanen and Joachim Wigelius.
A strong recommendation for lovers of spoken theatre and British culture
Jerusalem is a multi-level play that best speaks to lovers of spoken theatre and those who are lovers of British culture. You can pick up the level of “verbal fireworks and colorful characters” from the play, or analyze the entire play through the connections of William Blake’s poem, or everything in between. Strong recommendation!