Review: Nainen – aina parhaassa iässä

Entertaining Woman Always in Her Best Age

Helsinki City Theatre’s music-oriented performance Woman Always in the Best Age offers excerpts from the different stages of a woman’s life.

The script of the performance is written by Merja Larivaara, Satu Rasila and Pasi Lampela. Larivaara has also directed the performance.

The performance is not a play, but rather a revue-like, with small parts of speech between the musical numbers.

Actors Merja Larivaara, Aino Seppo, Leenamari Unho and Mikko Virtanen have the job under control and the skill of entertaining. All of them are surprisingly skilled as singers as well. There is no lack of interpretation in their presentation. Merja Larivaara also gets to show off her playing skills. It is rarely seen on the stage of the City Theatre.

The music will be provided by the skilled Kaihon Karavaani led by Jiri Kuronen. It is a pleasure to listen to and watch Kaihon Karavaani’s playing, because it has a laid-back atmosphere and joy of life. Everything shows that they are not shabby musicians.

The lyrics of the song are written by Merja Larivaara’s husband Kari-Pekka Toivonen.

All the actors and musicians on stage are bursting with joy and good vibes, which is also contagious to the audience. Everything shows that the working group has a good mood and a can-do attitude.

This performance could also work with the power of music alone without the speech parts in between. Could there be a sequel to this?

The performance is summed up in the phrase “A woman is always in her prime. It is good to remember it and not long for the past, worry about the future, but to live today, here and now and enjoy being a woman.

The performance is perfect for a group of women or as a Christmas party performance, why not also for married and cohabiting couples.

You don’t have to leave the auditorium bored or grief-stricken. At a time like this, we need this kind of break.