Review: Palkkamurhaajan painajainen

Farcical comedy brings laughter to the surface

The Hitman’s Nightmare offers its audience guaranteed entertainment where you don’t have time to get bored.

The Helsinki City Theatre delivers what it promises in its introductory text: The Hitman’s Nightmare is a farcical comedy tuned to its peak and fills an hour and a half with entertainment.

On stage, adjacent doors open and close. Peter Ahlqvist’s set design works right from the start and lasts until the end of the performance. Luckily.

The man sits down on a chair in the hotel room and ties a noose from the curtain cord. In the next room, the hitman sits in his own chair and looks at the views from the window. Hired killer Ralph (Santeri Kinnunen) has come to take care of a witness who arrives at the courthouse. Frank (Iikka Forss), who is contemplating suicide, is abandoned by his wife as a backpack that is supposed to film the events in the courthouse.

Frank’s appearance captivates as a pathetic clingy to people. But the work of a hitman is disrupted and nerves become tense. Ralph tries to get Frank out of the day, but Antti Peltola, who plays the hotel clerk, manages to mess up the hitman’s intentions.

Misunderstandings, banters and surprises follow. The events roll forward and make the audience gasp. Sauli Suonpää, who plays a police officer, is also involved in the events, and his movements on stage are breathtaking: will he survive that bones intact?

The sets are also put to the test. The action is reminiscent of an American action movie in places, suitably over-the-top. Laughter breaks out easily.

The premiere of The Assassin’s Nightmare was on 6.9.2017 on the Arena stage.

The script is written by Francis Veber, directed by Mika Eirtovaara. In addition to Iikka Forss, Santeri Kinnunen, Antti Peltola and Sauli Suonpää, the cast includes Sanna Saarijärvi as Frank’s wife and Jouko Klemettilä as a doctor. Costume design by Elina Kolehmainen, lighting design by Kari Leppälä, sound design by Mauri Siirala, camouflage and hairstyle by Jaana Nykänen and set design by Peter Ahlqvist.