Review: Vihainen leski

An angry widow entertains

The Angry Widow is one of the great plays of the Helsinki City Theatre this autumn. The play, adapted from Minna Lindgren’s novel, mirrors old women who still have desires and the energy to do things. Maybe nowadays it’s worth asking how old they are at +70 years old!

In fact, Henna Piirto, who made the dramatisation, brought to the stage a clearer tray of meanness, coziness and living raisins than Minna Lindgren did in her novel. Piirto has made a good line on the side of satirical comedy. The demarcation before and after retirement, widowhood and the life situations that followed them works and the play does not explain, but is carried out and acted on, as it should be in a comedy.

Ullis is a dentist in her former life, in another she is a caregiver for her husband and in the third she is an awakening woman. Riitta Havukainen is a stylish Ullis, a bit strict and a rowdy person who follows others. Pia Runnakko is in charge of Pike, Eija Vilpas is in charge of Hellus and Kai Lehtinen is in charge of Valtonen. That’s the key characters, except of course the children who like Ullis’ money and Ullis’ dreamman. Quite trendy are Ullis’ grandchildren, who have been raised genderless without old-fashioned boundaries. These brat characters created by Leena Rapola and Marjut Toivanen are excellent.

Director Kimmo Virtanen has kept a good balance on stage, as there are plenty of ingredients for the plots in this opus. The comic characters have elements of tragedy, women with problems hanging in the spirit of the times, and on the flip side, a hunger for life that “is not suitable for people of that age”.

This Angry Widow features Saturday night entertainment with real music that fits seamlessly into the play. When Lindgren’s best antics have been condensed into a play, the end result is delicious. For example, the sights of classical music aunts and the direct beating of pubs on the other hand make the viewer laugh and feel glee.

On the dark side are the unpleasant things of getting older, money-hungry children and the fear of falling out of the real swing of life. A nursing home mirage is not pretty when you have other things to do and your head is still there. In this chapter, we will find out about these.

The Angry Widow is concise, funny, it has enjoyable music, and it dares to reflect on the themes of the day with quite real names. In the theatre, you are allowed to enjoy, just enjoy the entertainment provided by professionals. The Angry Widow also had beautiful lights and a dressy set. In other words, the authentic elements of a theatre evening.