Review: Vihainen leski

Let’s get drunk! – Pensioners make the most of their lives in a play based on Minna Lindgren’s work

Musicals and classic plays are used to being seen on the big stage of the Helsinki City Theatre. The stage is already an arena of great emotions and experiences due to its size. Now we see something different on stage than what we are used to.

The Angry Widow, based on the novel by author Minna Lindgren, is not a Disney musical or a Russian classic. It is as quintessentially Finnish as it can be. It is a story with a taste of life, starring active retirees of the baby boomers.

All the actors of the City Theatre who are at least slightly 60 years old have been gathered on stage: Riitta Havukainen, Kari Mattila, Pia Runnakko and Eija Vilpas. This guard has rarely been seen in such numbers on the big stage. Most of the time, they have appeared in comedies for small stages, but this play shows that their charisma is enough to fill even a large stage.

Especially Havukainen, Runnakko and Vilpas are the kind of trio that is unrestrained to watch. They play three retired friends who make the most of their lives, and things go according to that.

For example, a yoga class becomes a real farce when the ladies exercise the pelvic floor muscles, i.e. sex muscles, under the guidance of the class leader, as the outspoken leader sums it up. Listening to Eija Vilppa’s giggles, you can’t help but laugh yourself.

True to its genre from start to finish, The Angry Widow is not a slick play, but rough, just like life is. For example, the song and dance numbers have not been polished to the end. They are presented with emotion rather than skill.

That’s exactly why the play is so delightful. It is honest with its down-to-earth genre from start to finish.

All in all, The Angry Widow reminds me a lot of a summer theatre performance, not least because the summer before last, a play based on Minna Lindgren’s Ehtoolehto series was performed at the Pyynikki Summer Theatre in Tampere. Among others, Eija Vilpas performed at Pyynikki, who will return to the role of a retired lady.

However, summer theatres do not have the opportunity for the fine technical implementations that can be seen on the stage of the City Theatre. A coniferous forest rises on the stage, where thick trunks rise sturdily towards the ceiling of the theatre hall. The atmosphere is like in the forest.

Conifers also have symbolism. They have seen the world for decades and have grown a thick bark around them to protect their innermost being.

The main character Ullis (Riitta Havukainen), who has cared for her husband as a caregiver for 12 years, has gathered a similar armor around her. She has closed all contact with the outside world and focused only on her husband.

In the play, this shell is broken when the man is dead and cremated. Ullis finally has a chance to live.

A 70-year-old does not belong in a nursing homeAn angry widow looks at society with enormous insight. 70-year-old pensioners are caught between two worlds: they are no longer involved in working life, and they don’t really belong in a nursing home either. They are active, even though illness and death are already peeking behind their backs.

However, it is difficult for children to understand their mother’s actions. Ullis parties with friends, drinks, and has casual relationships. A working adult can live a wild life in peace, but such a thing is not desirable for a pensioner.

A retired lady is supposed to be a sweet grandmother who rushes to take care of her grandchildren, who are just a caricature. They have been raised in a gender-neutral cotton wool and have never heard swear words in their lives.

In addition to the grandchildren, a great character is the real estate agent (Martti Manninen), who is completely infatuated with an apartment in Espoo in the 1970s. He giggles uninhibitedly as he walks around in an apartment in its original condition. The role is absolutely hilarious!

In addition to the elements of a farce such as The Real Estate Agent, The Angry Widow serves up black humour. Ageing and death are not easy topics, but they can still be laughed at freely. This is the basis for the popularity of Minna Lindgren’s books and this play.