Review: Ens lite lugn i huset
The only thing Marcus (Max Forsman) wants, is even a little peace in the house. That he will be able to sit down to listen to his record find Me, I and Myself that he found on his shopping trip on a Saturday morning. His wife Therese (Åsa Wallenius) instead thinks that the two need to talk, and she has a confession she must make. Twenty-eight years ago, she had a misstep.
Then, in a way, all sorts of things happen, in another way, nothing. The Portuguese construction worker (Fabian Silén) who does pipe renovation turns out to be quite unfamiliar when it comes to bathroom renovations. A neighbor (Sixten Lundberg) shows up because his home is about to collapse from all the water flowing around the house, mostly downwards. His son Sebastian (Wilhelm Enckell) comes to visit, as well as Marcus’ best friend Paul (Robert Enckell) and his wife’s friend Elsa (Pia Runnakko).
High recognition factor
Most of what is happening has already happened. And the only thing Marcus wants is for everything to be preserved in the status quo, for him to be able to listen to his record in peace. It’s about Marcus’ middle-aged tiredness and resignation, about Therese’s worries, about his son Sebastian’s disorientation in the family and life. The play has a high recognition factor for many in the auditorium.
Max Forsman makes a stable interpretation of Marcus’ reluctance and egocentricity, his apparent willingness to listen where listening is only a transport route to Me, Myself and I. Therese wants to wash the laundry from the past, for Sebastian’s sake. In a way, she is the initiator, on another level it is the supporting characters that keep the dramatic machinery going – perhaps because they have an easier mission. Therese often withdraws, she has slept badly, Wallenius’ absence gives the others room to play.
Even a little calm in the house is good entertainment with solid and even acting, writes Barbro Enckell-Grimm.
The funny thing in this comedy is everyone who comes and goes in Marcus and Therese’s living room, their secrets and revelations, lies, feelings and reactions. Max Forsman is a reflection surface for them, and in fact for the most part remarkably untouched, with an emphasis on most things. Every line that comes from Marcus’ loved ones is filtered through his experiences and neutralized that way (nothing unusual in real life). Towards the end, the construction falters.
Even a little calm in the house is good entertainment with solid and even acting, a well-oiled machinery. The duo Jaakko Saariluoma and Marina Meinander, who are responsible for directing and dramatization, could still have cleaned up a bit of the set-up. To have Leo and Pavel, a Portuguese and a Pole, as comic characters on the margins with the sole task of failing, appealing for help and stealing the host’s whiskey feels uncomfortable.