Review: Prinsessa Ruusunen

A HUNDRED YEARS I WAITED FOR YOU

Written and directed by Anneli Mäkelä, Sleeping Beauty is quite a cornucopia. The familiar fairy tale has been given a modern look and depth. It has become a development story for both a boy and a girl. The girl, to whom the elves have donated everything possible, searches for the truth about the world and wants to understand people’s living conditions. The boy, on the other hand, longs for and waits to grow into a man. In the end, love and courage are rewarded, and the parents let their daughter into adulthood.

The actors also play a donkey, a wild goose and a frog fluently. More physical activity is brought by dances and the young performers of the Bravuri circus school. The elves have speed and charm. The most charming is the Unicorn, whose gait was immediately imitated by a young lady on the coat racks.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s music about Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty played wonderfully along the way. What better way for a fairy tale to end than in a great waltz where the crinolines swing and the step slips. The applause was long and enthusiastic.