One evening, two plays
The demon Asmodeus makes a bet with the Marshal of Hell that he will be able to acquire thirteen souls for Satan in three days. So Asmodeus travels to Helsinki in 1913 to carry out a mission and show how easily the people of Helsinki succumb to the temptations of Satan. The first half is based on Runar Schildt’s miniature novel Asmodeus and 13 Souls (1915), which was dramatised by Juha Hurme .
In the second half, we see a new play written by Hurme, in which Asmodeus bets for the second time that he will be able to collect the souls of the people of Helsinki in three days to hell after death. “This is a fun way to collaborate with a writer who committed suicide 97 years ago,” Hurme says.
Runar Schildt (1888–1925) was a Finnish-Swedish writer who published eight collections of short stories and three plays in the 1910s and 1920s. He was already a popular prose writer among his contemporaries, and Schildt is considered one of Finland-Swedish classic writers. Despite this, he has received little attention, especially among Finnish speakers.
“I’ve been looking for pearls that have been forgotten for no reason. Asmodeus and 13 Souls is the most unknown of the works of a relatively unknown artist,” Hurme says.
Guaranteed fresh stuff
Both halves start in hell, from where Asmodeus starts to race towards Finland at the end of the betting. Hurme wanted a hell in the play that would ring and be like a ball. “At that time, it became obvious that this would require a house band and top musicians, not any gramophone music,” Hurme says.
The play features music composed by Petra Poutanen , performed by cellist and opera singer Pia Komsi and jazz bassist Ville Herrala. No pre-recorded music or sound effects are used, but the musicians make all the sounds of the play. They are on stage all the time, acting as henchmen of Asmodeus.
“This is going to be an extremely resilient show, able to evolve and stay fresh throughout the season, when the actors aren’t tied to something that was recorded months before.”
The play also brings freshness to the fact that Hurme delayed writing his play until as late as possible, as the purpose is to deal with the fears that people have in the current world situation. With the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the world has become so unpredictable that making satire is challenging. A month before the rehearsals, the play is still in progress.
“On the other hand, it adds to the value and interest of the performance that I, as a writer, can warmly think about different threats and things that people are currently wondering about,” Hurme says.
Hurme does not want to play with serious matters or bloodshed, but the play still moves on a rather grotesque line. The second half depicts the year 2026, when a major ecological catastrophe is at hand. Southern Mainland and Greenland have melted almost completely, as a result of which Helsinki has been left on water and the city has been evacuated to Lahti.
“I’m a conservationist through and through, and I don’t underestimate these problems, but I’m trying to build a Finland of the future that is so horrible that it’s comforting,” Hurme explains.
In a hundred years, the rhythm of life has also accelerated, so Asmodeus must collect 1300 souls this time. “It will be a very action-packed play, which will be whipped forward by the fact that the title character is in the middle of a fast-paced sports performance,” Hurme describes.
Evil does not come from hell
Both halves of the play are on the same page, even though they have different writers. Asmodeus and the 1313 Souls play on human weaknesses, such as selfishness, pettiness, and stupidity, which cause individuals to fall into demon traps.
According to literary tradition, a demon is not evil but honest. “Evil does not come from hell, but is in this world and can also be removed,” Hurme sums up.
In Hurme’s dystopia, the world suffers from drought, but it rains too much in Finland. The play features a bottled water manufacturer who makes money in the world’s distress and a ski coach and artificial track entrepreneur who operates in a snow-free world.
The play fools around with people’s greed tendencies and mocks homophobia and conspiracy theories such as trolling. “I ridicule the things I hate, and in doing so, I acknowledge my own values as a screenwriter.”
Hurme believes that with Schildt’s valuable help, he will be able to bring comfort to a distressing time in a good way. “Asmodeus has a very original pattern, but it has the same goals as all art: to give a little food for thought while entertaining and to make people think that this is it.”
Ida Henritius