Review: Kolme iloista rosvoa

How are robbers tamed?

Small children will probably like the basic rule of the city of Cardamom: “You have to be kind, you must not bully others, otherwise you can do what you want.”


Thorbjørn Egner’s children’s book Kasper, Jesper and Joonatan: Three Merry Robbers has been given its latest interpretation on the big stage of the City Theatre. Egner was quite a creator, by the way: he wrote a story, drew the pictures and composed the songs for his children’s book.

Music is an essential part of the performance on the big stage. Eeva Konttu’s band sits on the side of the stage and speeds up the pace of both people and horses.

Egner’s robbers do not have great personalities and deep life problems. Thus, under the direction of Milko Lehto , it has been happily turned into a circus. The story itself has already been read to the ears of dogs in many families.

The city of Cardamom is an uncontroversial place of happiness, where even the police are very soft, if not downright sissy. The only problem person is Miss Sohvi, who, as a strict person of principle, keeps discipline on the Camomilla girl who wants to go to an evening party.

There is a problem in the city. At night, sausages disappear from the sausage master’s shop and bread from the baker. There are three robbers who are actually longing for a change into decent citizens and perhaps even more women to bring food to the table. The robbers come up with a king idea: rob Miss Sohvi, who is soundly asleep at night.

This is the beginning of a hilarious game between the commanding Sohvi and the robbers. The prison gets new residents and the ability of the people of Cardamom to take in strangers educates them into decent citizens in a couple of days. At the end, you can sing wholeheartedly that there are no more bandits.

The play is largely a triumph of extraordinarily rich and exquisite set design, costumes, dances and skilful make-up. A tower with fires, a donkey, a camel, poodles, horses and a parrot are great.

There is just the right amount of excitement in the air, but not too much. When a fierce and supple lion appears, a clear child’s voice is heard from the back row: “That lion is not real, is it, is it?”

Egner’s songs are still catchy and catchy. I myself remember a catchy bandit song from twenty years ago: “This is how quietly, quietly we are now sneaking in the night of Cardamom. All the people are on their own, only the robbers are toiling at work…”

In this performance, the robbers had also learned to rap.
Rauno Ahonen, Paavo Kerosuo and Eppu Salminen do well in the roles of Kasperi, Jesper and Joonatan. Sami Uotila is a lion, Pertti Koivula keeps order as a humane police chief and Ursula Salo (and Leenamari Unho) are cruel in the role of the Couch lady.

Three Merry Robbers is a full-fledged children’s musical, perhaps most suitable for those ages who can listen to a book even after reading. If the plot is familiar in advance, the little viewer can focus on enjoying the dancing of horses and dogs and skillful sound effects, for example.

These bandits leave a good feeling even for the adult viewer.