Review: Once (på svenska)
Once captivates even the dead end – Lilla Teatern’s musical brings light to the autumn
Lilla Teatern’s musical Once brings joy to the dark autumn. How easy is it to follow a Swedish-language musical if school Swedish has become rusty?
The low-budget Irish film Once was a success, winning the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2008 for Falling Slowly. The story of the music-filled film has now been naturally transferred to the stage in musical form. The performance has previously been seen on Broadway and in the West End, among other places, and now it is the turn of Helsinki’s Lilla Teatern, directed by Jakob Höglund .
In the musical, the Irish street musician, played by Tuukka Leppänen , is captivated by an irresistibly determined Czech woman played by Emma Klingenberg . The two start recording a demo and of course emotions are ignited, but can there be a happy ending to love?
The plot is classic “a boy meets a girl” in its simplicity, but Once’s richness comes from everything sprinkled on top of it.
During the coronavirus pandemic, he has missed out on live music experiences, and Once offers great first aid for that. There is no separate band used in the performance, but the musicians also act and the actors play. Once is bursting with joy and energy, and there may not be an oversupply of either in November, so the musical is a wonderful boost of energy.
The fast-paced performance is a celebration of music and the viewer feels like they are at a gig. Sometimes they end up sitting in the bass box, sometimes they even dance the choreography with a cello on board. The simplified set design is surprisingly functional and feeds the imagination, and the soundscape is full of amazingly inventive solutions, such as the sounds of waves created by the performers themselves with their hands.
Tobias Zilliacus has translated the lyrics of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová into Swedish. The main couple is Tuukka Leppänen and Emma Klingenberg, but the whole ensemble is excellent. Virtuoso musicians switch from one instrument to another in an instant.
Of course, Lilla Teatern’s version is in Swedish, and since it has been more than twenty years since the last Swedish lesson, I was nervous about how well I would get the hang of the plot. I have to admit that some of the jokes were beyond comprehension, but I was able to keep up with the story even with a little more rusty language skills, and the dark autumn evening felt at least a little brighter after the performance. So feel free to try!
Subtitles are also available for the performance via the THEA application.