Review: Koljatti

Jari Tervon The Goliath novel does not lend itself to a play in the traditional sense of the word. In the Helsinki City Theatre’s performance, there is no drama at all, but Goliath has funny types of people and talk, a lot of talk.

Tervo’s Goliath is a caricature of Finland’s former Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. In the book and on the theatre stage, he is called Pekka Lahnanen, and actor Antti Virmavirta is fully committed to the role.

In the performance, Lahnanen is depicted as a village madman who is immersed in his own worlds. Burnout alone is probably no longer enough to diagnose a disease.

Lahnanen’s political assistants Kirsikka Tanner (Sanna-June Hyde) and Haukinen (Jari Pehkonen) try their best to help Lahnanen stay on his feet, but the man’s downward spiral has already begun. He looks exploded, acts recklessly, and only frogs come out of his mouth.

The performance follows the events of the book quite faithfully, and several literary quips also work well on the theatre stage.

Theatricality is mainly brought to the performance by scenes related to Russian Prime Minister Putin. Especially the description of Putin’s childhood elicited hearty laughter from the audience. Pertti Koivula’s little baby Putin is a bull’s-eye.

As a political satire, the performance is at its best when Lahnanen examines the relations between Finland and Russia. In the beginning, instead, there is a lot of talk about the relationship between the press and politicians and the special characteristics of domestic politicians. When we move on a personal level, satire is reduced to slander.

Antti Virmavirta does his Lahnanen to the fullest, being funny, terrible, pathetic and sympathetic. The most enjoyable part of the performance is to follow the work of two top comedians, Jari Pehkonen and Pertti Koivula: Pehkonen shines especially in the role of Haukinen and as a bartender-buffoon from Kontula, Koivula is at full blast as Veksi Jurmu from Kontula, Vladimir Putin and the beast maniac.

Sami Keski-Vähälä’s role as the dramatizer of the novel has not been enviable, but Raila Leppäkoski and his team have succeeded in the most important thing: despite its contradictions, Goliath is an entertaining performance.