Review: Mikko Räsäsen tulevaisuus

In the play written by Mika Ripatti, you can hear that the writer knows the thing he has written about. In addition to his work as a writer, Ripatti is a professional in water supply and street construction, working as a supervisor in Stara’s urban engineering construction department.

The play tells about fathers and sons of different generations, the classes of classless society, work, image and encounters with different people. At the heart of the project is Mikko Räsänen (Martti Suosalo), who works as the foreman of the construction site on Stara’s urban engineering side.

In the play, Mikko Räsänen’s team is renewing the sewer network, but the townspeople have been told that a bicycle path is under construction. Service designer Lasse Kosonen (Rauno Ahonen) and Mikko Räsänen are on a collision course at the construction site, and as a result, Kosonen’s bike breaks. Mikko Räsänen agrees to fix the bike. When Kosonen takes the bike to a branded repair shop, the costs rise to hundreds of euros. Räsänen cannot afford this, after which he promises to do Kosonen’s bathroom renovation.

Mikko Räsänen and his team would just like to focus on their work, renewing the sewers, but the city has hired service designer Kosonen to improve their image. This means that city residents can follow the progress of the site in real time thanks to drone cameras. A temporary cycle path will be built. Never mind that the manhole cover is left under it.

When watching the play, you sometimes didn’t know whether to laugh or cry – it was so crazy, but it also felt real about the construction and improving the image. The play clearly shows how different groups live in their own bubble without understanding the worries and problems of others.

The play is a celebration of Martti Suosalo and Rauno Ahonen, but Jari Pehkonen’s unit director, engineer Kimmo Niemi, is also an excellent performance. Heikki Kujanpää’s direction deserves praise, as does the versatility of musician Joakim Berghäll. The skilful flying of the drone cameras was like a dance.

The play has a lot to think about, but it is packaged in an entertaining form.