Review: Maratontanssit

Marathon Dances (Helsinki City Theatre)

For a short time, a play called Marathon Dances will be performed on the small stage of the Helsinki City Theatre. It is based on Horace McCoy’s novel They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Let’s shoot horses too), which has been adapted for the stage by Ray Herman and translated into Finnish by Esko Elstelä.

The play is set in the United States during the Depression of the 1930s. At that time, one form of entertainment was marathon dances, where the participants danced until only one couple was standing. 1 h 50 min dance, 10 min break. In two-hour periods, all day long, week after week and month after month. Entertainment for the spectators, money for the organizers, a way for the participants to make at least some kind of living, even for a short time. Marathon Dances is a study project carried out in cooperation with the Degree Programme in Acting at the Theatre Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, where all actors are students.

The play is directed and dramaturgically directed by Heidi Räsänen. The casting of the play is divided so that the roles change between the first and second acts, and no one has an actual main role. The main couple of the play, Robert and Gloria, are always played by three actors each at a time. With that said, this may sound confusing, but the implementation works well. Sometimes both male and female characters speak at different times, complementing each other, sometimes simultaneously. Especially the Roberts in the first act really manage to speak as if they were in unison.

At a very early stage, a pressing sense is created in the play about what kind of stakes this game is played with. Räsänen’s direction is relentless, and neither the viewers nor the actors let it off easily. There are no backwaters, after all, no mercy is given in marathon dances either. The young actors make excellent characters; Some are more caricatured for the role, some are very natural. The compulsiveness and despair of marathon dances can often be seen in the facial expressions; The conflict between upbeat dance moves and desperate appearances is at best successfully creepy. People are equated with horses that are driven relentlessly forward and forward.

Marathon dances are cruel fun at the expense of those who have no other way to get food and a roof over their heads. The topicality and parallels with real life are unfortunately easy. A lighter comparison is modern reality TV with all kinds of competitions. More difficult is the thought of how many people are slipping into a situation where the alternatives disappear and they have to cling to whatever straw they can get. You can have dreams, but pursuing them can be looked down upon. To what extent, working life, earning a living, is seen as a never-ending competition, especially for young people, where you have to run faster than others, stay upright the longest, be interesting and stand out in order to succeed in the constant pressure. If you fall, you have to get up quickly so that you don’t get disqualified. Besides, participation was my own choice. How each of us can handle it. And you should also remember to smile.

The choreographies of the marathon dances are by Antti Lahti . At their best, the dances are very fast-paced and the choreographies also repeat the theme of shooting. All in all, the actors show quite a lot of physical performance.

The set concept was designed by Vilma Mattila, the set design by Pekka Korpiniitty. The most essential part of the set is the revolving stage, which is reminiscent of both a racetrack and a roulette table, where all the action takes place. The use of the revolving stage contributes to the merging of different people who play the same character together. Other set elements are brought and exported as needed. The fairly empty stage gives plenty of room for acting.

The costumes are designed by Elina Kolehmainen, the camouflage by Henri Karjalainen. These, together with the acting, create characters that are distinguishable or similar to each other to the necessary extent. The costumes and camouflages are very successful and functional; shabby and beautiful, embodying disadvantage and good status as needed.

The lighting design was done by Outi Vedenpää. Lighting is a very successful part of creating an atmosphere. I also liked how the light element could be used as a kind of set element or the set element as a light source. Lighting design is Vedenpää’s (TeaK) artistic thesis.

Sound design, composition and arrangement are by Janna Hyrynkangas (Theatre Academy). The soundtrack and the music naturally play a very important role – music is closely related to dance and the soundtrack tells a lot of things anyway. In the play, the song Pieni sydän (Small Heart) stands out, of which the dark of pain is especially remembered.