Review: Mannerheim ja saksalainen suudelma

Impressive and interesting play Mannerheim and the German Kiss Theplay at the Helsinki City Theatre begins in 1918, when the Civil War has just ended, but individual slaughters continue. Mannerheim becomes the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Finland and later the Regent of Finland.Mannerheim and the German Kiss, written by Juha Vakkuri, focuses on Finland’s fateful years: before the intermission, the early stages of independence are illuminated, and after the intermission, we jump to the war years of the 1940s. Very topical on the eve of the 100th anniversary.

The play sheds light in an interesting and concise way on how thin a thread Finland’s independence has depended on. Authentic images and explanatory texts projected on the background help to keep track of history.

Kari Heiskanen’s direction is quality work. Everything unnecessary has been left out, only the essential remains. The play focuses on Mannerheim, his military skills, politics and Finland’s attitude towards both Jews and Germans.

Asko Sarkola, who, after retiring from the position of theatre director, jumps into Mannerheim’s shoes. He doesn’t just play Mannerheim, but IS Mannerheim, believable down to small gestures. It is a pleasure to see Sarkola in a role other than farces. Brilliant and masterful work.

Another wonderful work is done by Pertti Sveholm, who has a dual role: the lord of the manor, the owner of Svartå Manor, Hjalmar Linder, and the wartime Major Lehmus. It’s a pleasure to watch this kind of work.

The play is educational, informative and really interesting, even though I’m not a fan of war themes. At least for me, the play gave me a lot of new information. Our group was downright impressed by the message and execution of the play.

I can really warmly recommend this play to everyone, not only to those interested in history, but to everyone from puberty onwards. If the information in the history book has been numbing, this brings history to life and gives the viewer a perspective on the early decades of Finland. For those of us who were born a long time after those decades, it is very healthy to supplement our knowledge in a suitably entertaining way.

I also recommend buying the script, because it has a lot of good historical information about those important years and the role models of the play.

A strong and warm recommendation! This is one of this year’s cultural deeds.