Review: Arvoituksellisia muunnelmia

Surprising plot twists The salt of the play Enigmatic Variations

Only two actors, and the events take place in one room over the course of one day. It could seem like a boring play. But the Helsinki City Theatre’s play Enigmatic Variations cannot be called boring.

Pam! A terrible bang. And so the play begins.

The grumpy, isolated and award-winning Nobel Prize winner Abel Znorko (Heikki Kinnunen) lives alone on his island and does not want to give interviews. Unexpectedly, Erik Larsen (Ilkka Heiskanen), the editor of a newspaper in a small town, is given the grace and permission to come and interview him.

However, the author has shot at the journalist as he approached the house. So has the author agreed to be interviewed after all, or what is it all about?

This is the beginning of Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s Enigmatic Variations. It’s better that I don’t tell you more about the plot so that it retains the element of surprise if you go to see it. What I can say is that the twists and turns change at a rapid pace. It’s good when the viewer can keep up.

Veteran actors Heikki Kinnunen and Ilkka Heiskanen make guaranteed quality. Kinnunen is grumpy, eccentric and downright strange, but in a believable way. Heiskanen’s role as a journalist is tiring at first, but changes in an interesting way as the play progresses.

The play holds its grip and the text takes you from one mood to another and makes you wonder in which direction the story will go next.

The play has been produced as a co-production. The participants are Helsinki City Theatre, Hämeenlinna Theatre, Kuopio City Theatre, Logomo and Riihimäki Theatre. Therefore, this can be seen all over Finland. It’s gratifying!