Review: Siegfried

I’ve managed to see Mikko Kauppila, who graduates from Näty this spring, in several stories and I’ve really liked what I’ve seen. A couple of years ago, I interviewed him for my blog and somehow even then I could sense from the answers that he would still do something completely unique, unique. The interview left me with the phrase “kinesthetic empathy” and a definition of it: “Not everything can be understood in a rational way. Theatre has an impact and is impressed. For me, how I represent and represent my own gender is also important in my own acting.” (Read the full interview here.)

Siegfried is Mikko Kauppila’s artistic thesis, and after seeing the performance, I felt some indefinable pride in what kind of people are graduating for the field. Physicality, your own voice strongly visible and audible. This was an experience, which is again difficult to put into words. It made me confused, amused, wondered, moved. The strong feeling came as a sweep like a wave or wind, a ripple.

The Auditorium is on a stage with a transparent pool half full of water. In the background, a thin canvas flutters, which also spreads out into the official auditorium of Studio Pasila. In the pool, naked as the protagonist of our story. Somehow, I immediately remembered the really impressive Amor fati I saw earlier in the spring, where Samuli Niittymäki wrestled with clay. The audience around. A familiar element. Personalization. When everything is stripped down. Open your senses. At times breathtaking, even distressing – and yet an extremely arresting experience.

Throat singing-style rumbling. Jumping around on his feet, too. Water. Memories. Strange movements. The dance of the little swans. 32 spins (the audience counts out loud). Looks. Bare skin. In a bare body. Innocent games of childhood and sexual awakening. Summer Evening Waltz. Piano. Fingers lightly on the keys. Tap shoes. Constant movement and even strange soundscapes. Ripples of the water surface. Air bubbles. Silence.

I can’t describe this in better words. One more performance left on Saturday 6 April at 7 pm. Go. Remember to breathe.

I had a dream at night in which I was under water in places and sometimes I talked about kinesthetic empathy.