Review: Veljeni Leijonamieli
Lion’s heart for children and a little older
Astrid Lindgren’s fairy tale classic Veljeni Leijonamieli has been brought to the Helsinki City Theatre’s big screen, now in a visual and fast-paced version by Jakob Höglund, the director of Lilla Teatern and the beloved musical theatre man. Brothers Korppu and Joonatan (Alexander Wendelin and Mikko Kauppila) carry each other through difficulties and fight against the forces of evil.
I’ve read the book decades ago and cried together with the children, but now I had to take the girls next door, Liv, 9 years old and Lila, 11 years old, as a safer guarantee. They also have experience of making theatre in their club, possibly even in the next Shed performance at the City Theatre.
Both girls had prepared well for the theatre experience, had written handwritten essays on a piece of paper about Astrid Lindgren and listened to My Brother the Lion’s Mind as an audiobook during the autumn holidays. According to notes made in advance, “the themes of the story are death, life after death and overcoming one’s own fears, but also friendship and respect.”
When they left the theatre, the girls still agreed – but they thought the play was vastly better than the audiobook they had listened to.
“When it had the costumes, the lights and the colors, the music and the movement,” said Liv and Lila.
There was certainly movement, Jakob Höglund’s and Ville Seivo’s battle choreography was handsome to watch. Both the girls and I thought the set design was inventive, Jakob Höglund has already used light cubes and pyramids in Lilla Teatern in last year’s The Marriage of Figaro and I think they were also used by Kaisa Lundán in Katrina. It works, so does Leo’s mind. The lighting and video design (William Iles and Toni Haaranen) were effective.
The music of the performance (Stefan Johansson) followed the events. Senni Valtonendelighted with her live performances. And, of course, the City Theatre’s own actors who know how to speak, dance and sing, complemented by well-known freelancers, were on stage.
Liv and Lila were initially afraid that the nearly two-and-a-half-hour performance would have been long. But in the end, the girls thought that the play went quickly, they didn’t get tired at all, and they didn’t need to look at the clock. An adult viewer had also agreed. In our opinion, My Brother Lionheart was suitable for both children (from 9 years) and adults.