Review: Näytelmä joka menee pieleen

The Play That Goes Wrong: The Farce of the Arena Stage Succeeds

Murphy’s Law has rarely been executed as joyfully as in the farce of the Helsinki City Theatre’s The Play That Goes Wrong.

This spring, there is a real need for a light splash of humor and a couple of hours during which you don’t have to think about anything else. The Arena stage of the Helsinki City Theatre responds to the invitation with a hilarious farce, the name of which says it all: The play that goes wrong.

The performance will feature a play within a play, as the Amateur Actors Drama Society will perform the play Murder at Haversham Manor. The company compensates for its unprofessionalism mainly with bad luck, so the actors encounter a variety of problems during the performance, especially on the set side. In this physical comedy, everything really goes wrong, and in the funniest way possible.

Peter Ahlqvist’s dizzying and at times millimetre-precise set design deserves a special mention. Everything works exactly as it should, and some of the stunts are so dazzling that it’s even a little scary for the actors dodging the moving sets. Director Pentti Kotkaniemi has already gathered his comedy spurs with the play Stones in the Pocket. Even now, he has managed to make the performance work smoothly despite all the throwing.

The cast is well-known, and veteran actors get to let loose while playing overacting amateurs. Special points are earned by Santeri Kinnunen as Risto (director of the play Murder at Haversham Manor, who plays Police Inspector Carter in the society’s performance), who tries to maintain some kind of respectability even though the world around him is burning. Risto’s eye rolls and the little death that shines through his eyes when adversity strikes make me laugh every time.

Eija Vilpas Anne is a stage manager who, by chance, also ends up on stage – and then no longer wants to leave it. Anne will probably go down in the history of theatre with her publication, which pays tribute to Vilppas’ skills. The energetic Alex Anton as Roope, who plays Thomas Colleymoore, screams in almost every scene, and Roope’s desperate attempts to continue the performance regardless of any problem deserve applause. The same show must go on method is followed by Matti Rasila’s Henkka, aka the butler Perkins, who solders Lasol to the actors if necessary.

Joel Hirvonen Masana (Cecil Haversham and Arthur the gardener) and Linda Wiklund as Sanna (Florence Colleymoore) bear a big responsibility for the physical comedy of the play, along with Alex Anton. The young trio do well with the veterans.

Teuvo (Eppu Salminen), who takes care of the lights and sounds on his left, and the master of timing Jonde, aka Charles Haversham (Risto Kaskilahti), complete the group.

The award-winning play, which saw the light of day in London in 2012 and has been running in the West End since 2014 under the name The Play That Goes Wrong , has already been seen in different cities in Finland over the years. There is no end in sight to the popularity, and no wonder, as this masterpiece of precise timing is timeless.

This is also one of those plays that you should arrive to on time – things can start happening on stage and even in the foyer even before the official start.