Fast-paced disaster farce at Lilla Teatern/Jaakko Saariluoma directs Lilla Teatern’s farce novelty

French playwright Florian Zeller’s farce Une Heure de tranquillité ( 2013) opens Lilla Teatern’s spring 2019. The play is about the father of the family, Marcus (Max Forsman), who just wants some peace and quiet in his home to enjoy a jazz record that he finally found at a flea market after several years of searching. But on that particular day, it seems almost impossible: his wife wants to have a frank discussion about the communication in their relationship, his son’s identity crisis needs to be solved, his mistress shows up with her remorse, he is visited by his new neighbor who does not want to go home… Add to that a small renovation that gets completely out of hand and the disaster is a fact.

 “It’s great fun to work at the legendary Lilla Teatern with a superb team! And it’s especially fun to work with something fun in Swedish. The Swedish language is somehow particularly suitable for comedy. The play has a very high recognition factor, where we can all recognize ourselves or someone close to us on some level. And Marcus’ egoism, which is typical of our time, makes it topical,” says director Jaakko Saariluoma, who is familiar from numerous Finnish TV shows, films and theatre productions.

Award-winning Zeller (born 1979) is one of Europe’s hottest playwrights right now and his work has been translated into several languages. The English newspaper The Guardian named Zeller the most interesting playwright of our time in 2016. The play A Little Calm in the House has also been made into a film with the original title (France, 2014).

In addition to Max Forsman, we will see a star-studded gang on Lillan’s stage consisting of father and son Robert and Wilhelm Enckell, who will be joined by Sixten Lundberg, Pia Runnakko, Åsa Wallenius and Fabian Silén. The performance is recommended for ages 12 and up, and is subtitled in Finnish and Swedish. The Finnish premiere will take place on 2 February.
 

Jaakko Saariluoma directs Lilla Teatern’s new farce

Lilla Teatern’s spring season opens with the farce Ens lite lugn i huset (Une heure de tranquillité, 2013) by award-winning French author Florian Zeller . The play will have its Finnish premiere on 2 February, and it will be directed by the graced comedy master Jaakko Saariluoma, who is visiting Lilla Teatern for the first time.

The play tells the story of Marcus (Max Forsman), who has planned to spend a quiet morning at home enjoying and listening to a new jazz album of his dreams that he found at a flea market. The whole world just seems to be against the plan. He would only like to have an hour of alone time, but that’s when his wife, son, lover and tenacious neighbor all need attention. A quiet morning threatens to turn into a nightmare or at least a plumbing renovation.

“It’s really fun to work at the legendary Lilla Teatern with a great team! And it’s especially nice to do something fun in Swedish. The Swedish language is somehow particularly suitable for comedy. It’s really easy to identify with the characters in the work, and Marcus’s selfishness, which is so typical in our time, makes it topical,” says director Jaakko Saariluoma, known from many Finnish TV shows, films and theatre productions.

The award-winning Zeller (b. 1979) is one of Europe’s hottest authors right now, and his works have been translated into many languages. The English newspaper The Guardian named Zeller the most interesting writer of our time in 2016. The play has also been made into a film under the original title Une Heure de tranquillité, in France in 2014.

In addition to Max Forsman, Lillan’s stage will feature renowned actors such as Pia Runnakko, Sixten Lundberg, Åsa Wallenius, Fabian Silén,and father and son Robert and Wilhelm Enckell. The performance is recommended for children aged 12 and up and it will be subtitled in Finnish. The Finnish premiere is on 2.2.

Premiere 2.2.2019 at Lilla Teatern (Yrjönkatu 30)
Tickets/tickets 34 €