Review: Mannerheim ja saksalainen suudelma
Dramatic play about Finland’s brotherhood in arms with Germany
Helsinki City Theatre participates in Finland’s 100th anniversary celebrations with a play about – anyone else – Carl Gustaf Mannerheim.
Although Mannerheim is the main character in the play Mannerheim and the German Kiss, this is not a portrait of a person. The play primarily deals with Finland’s controversial relations with Germany during the Civil War and the Continuation War.
The play is written by Juha Vakkuri and directed and dramatised by Kari Heiskanen. Mannerheim is played by Asko Sarkola, who retired from the post of director of the City Theatre at the beginning of the year. He is given the role of the powerful marshal, and makes both an intense and multifaceted interpretation. Sarkolas Mannerheim dares to show personal feelings, but remains a worthy and strong statesman.
The opening is dramatically brutal. A bunch of prisoners of war are lined up and shot from behind. The large landowner Hjalmar Linder (Pertti Sveholm) comes running and shouts that all the killing should be over, the war is over. As a friend of Mannerheim, Linder plays a prominent role in the first act. After he wrote a letter to the editor of Hufvudstadsbladet in which he sharply condemned the White Terror and the treatment of Red prisoners of war (under the headline “Enough of bloodbath”), he was strongly criticized and sought refuge in Sweden.
The performance is chronological, and the two acts take place during two crucial periods in Finland’s history: just after the Civil War and during the Continuation War. The play is like a dramatic history lesson, richly illustrated with archival images projected onto the backdrop wall. The central characters are presented in the same way; When a character steps forward on stage, their photo and name are also visible on the wall. This makes it easier to keep up with the events even for those who are not so historically knowledgeable and familiar with all the details. The voluminous programme leaflet with the many historical overviews also contributes to the understanding of the events.
Crossroads
The second act of the play shows how Finland was not driven into the Continuation War, but systematically prepared to reconquer the territories lost during the Winter War with the help of Germany. The greatest achievement, however, was to break away from the war, break the brotherhood in arms with Germany and retain independence. Here, Mannerheim is portrayed as the hero who dared to break the Ryti-Ribbentrop Pact and make a separate peace with the Soviet Union.
The performance describes the moments when Finland was at an important crossroads and was forced to choose which path to take. In these moments, the personal qualities of the leaders, their strengths and weaknesses, play a prominent role, as director Heiskanen also notes in the advance information.
In addition to Finland’s relationship with Germany, Mannerheim’s private life is also included on stage. He meets Kitty Linder (Kirsi Karlenius), the sister of Hjalmar Linder, but their relationship can never develop because Mannerheim fails to get a divorce from his wife Anastasia Mannerheim (Helena Haaranen), even though they haven’t seen each other for ten years. However, the romantic sidetrack remains weak and somewhat detached and does not add much to the play.
Of course, many historically important figures also have a place in the spectacle, from Svinhufvud to Colonel Wilhelm Thesleff and Herbert Hoover, who ensured that Finland received food aid.
The set design by Antti Mattila is functional and sober, with a number of tables and chairs that can be moved around as needed, and with stately dark wood walls. The revolving stage is smoothly utilised, while the lighting and sound design are neither irritating nor impressive.
It is a highly masculine adrenaline-fueled performance, with very raised voices and fists at the tables, where women only have a place as secretaries or mistresses, but in this case it may be justified.