Review: Ilon aika

The Time of Joy defies traditional storytelling and takes the viewer to the middle ground between the unknown and the familiar, to visual views, encounters and non-encounters. A performance that proceeds with the power of strong energy does not lend itself to easy analysis. Critical success can also be seen and experienced in many ways. When one flies along with the performance, the other quiets down to wonder. That happened to us too.

“Now there was something really unique on stage that you rarely see. A play that is more than text and sets. A performance full of energy, a living work of art. And a multi-level experience. Many scenes stuck in my mind as pictures instead of text. It reminded me of the show we saw in Barcelona, where every scene was like a painting designed by a famous visualizer. In this performance, too, for example, the arrival of a widow and two sons on stage or the main character left alone with his balloons sent shivers down his skin.

“It was really special. But what did this tell us? To begin with, the story of one boy, As, who escapes, about the destructive power and detachment of strong relationships, the search and discovery of oneself. But in the second half, Akse was the abandoned David, and the story was more about the importance of friendship, childhood and relationships. But you keep going. I still have to think for a moment about what this was.

“I think the play was about encounters and non-encounters, about life flowing forward, joy and sorrow. But you are certainly not the only one who is pondered by the proposal. As we left, a previously talkative group of women were queuing for their coats in complete silence. Finally, one of them broke the silence by laughing that this needs to be digested a bit. The play remains swirling on the horizon, like balloons in a light wind. It can be difficult to put it in any category, or maybe even put it into words.

“My main thought is that I wish it had been even more abstract, even more special. The performance had a clear story, but it wasn’t clear or meant to be. But still, it told a story. That’s why I sometimes got too caught up in thinking about what this means. For example, the scene you mentioned, where there was a widow and two sons, and they rolled under the canvas. Were they the ghosts of dissatisfied people or what?

“Does it matter? I think the story somehow went more on the other side of words, as an experience. We avoid reading reviews before seeing the work, but earlier this week I heard that a performance had received a five-star review in Hesar. I guessed during the performance that it was this play and it was. It was also no surprise that this had a foreign text, a director who had worked abroad and an experienced visual designer.

“True, we have seen similar strong visuality from foreign performers, for example, at the Tampere Theatre Festival. There were a lot of great things about this, but at the same time something that I still can’t grasp now. At the end, those people were spinning around the stage. A hell of a long time. Then they collapsed to think about their youth together. And then came the mother, was it the first or the second mother. Well, but. How would you weave this together…

“Usually you get to grips with complex presentations well, while I think too much! But I agree that one can only get trapped in this proposal at the level of the text. I also partly stayed. Even though the text was also skillful. Sometimes like a poem, sometimes comedy that made the audience laugh. But as they said in the play, “the end is the most important” and now, admittedly, the performance left a little too empty space at the end, or the viewer was just left wondering about the beautiful balloons, the whole performance. Even if at best you would fly into the sky with those balls! Compared to that, this performance can be seen and experienced in many ways. I think the reviewer who gave five stars made it all the way to the air, not everyone will make it.

“Will the May Day ball get completely out of hand somewhere? Well, to quote the language of the play. The self-critic says: Special. Something I would have added, or taken away. Another I-Critic says: I give four points. Interesting.

“I’m sure many people book tickets because of the five-star rating given by Hesar and I would tell them to try to jump into the light-hearted energy, don’t think too much. Personally, I definitely need more of this.  Our entire culture is becoming more and more visual, and yes, it will also come to the theatre stage. Great, great atmosphere and energy, but also acting.