Review and Photos: The Loud and Distinctive CHERRY ORCHARD at the Helsinki City Theatre

The Cherry Orchard at the Helsinki City Theatre. Anton Tšehov's text translated by Martti Anhava, directing Lauri Maijala, music Lauri Porra, set design Janne Vasama, costume design Tiina Kaukanen, lighting design Matti Ijäs, sound design Kai Poutanen, theatre makeup Jaana Nykänen. On Stage Heidi Herala, Sonja Kuittinen, Sanna Majuri, Aino Seppo, Emilia Sinisalo, Tommi Eronen, Jouko Klemettilä, Seppo Maijala, Kari Mattila, Unto Nuora, Chike Ohanwe, Heikki Ranta, Eero Saarinen

Spoilers.

The beginning is eventful: all the characters come on stage from the sides and are dancing franticly like there's no tomorrow. They are introduced so that one by one they dance more rapidly than the others, which in my opinion would have needed a little more sharpness, so we could have picked the actor in focus a little better. The voice of the narrator has a neat and subtle Russian accent, which was very enjoyable, bringing us right into the mood of a classical Russian piece of theatre.

During the same scene we get introduced to the delicate lighting design by Mika Ijäs as well, when the question on the little Grisha is brought up: he's drowned, and so the lights dim and change just slightly, as they do in various scenes just at the right times too.

In Cherry Orchard Ranevskaja (the steady and rooted Heidi Herala) has returned to her former home at the Cherry Orchard and the atmosphere is merry. Everyone is happy to be there again, all together. Still, tragic things have happened-- and more are coming, and no one doesn't seem to be willing to cease the parties to talk about the realities: the coming auction and the already happened losses and griefs not dealt with. No, everyone stays neurotic, grinning through their gritted teeth, not wanting to deal with anything, not with the coming things nor with the horrible past that is even painted on the walls. "The clock is ticking", Lopahin (the skillful Chicke Ohanwe) reminds in between all the merry rallying and a simple, questioning huh seems to be the only thing vaguely blurted before all the escapism-filled joy goes on.

A former, gray teacher outside of the walls of the celebrating circles, Trofimov (cautious Tommi Eronen), comes to visit the family. He breaks the illusion of ceased time: "How have you become so ugly?" Ranevskaja asks and thus her eyes are opened to the ageing of the others around her too-- and she faints! A spot on emphasis, well done!

The sound design by Kai Poutanen and music by Lauri Porra is well thought out as well. The endings of the background musics and effects or the start of them carry on the storytelling. They pinpoint scenes or moments that need the extra attention, for example the deep sound effects at the parties in the Second Act were fantastic and grounding.

The director Lauri Maijala is excellent at nifty details: Dunjaša's (hectic Sanna Majuri) way of dressing is commented on, but see, she is actually putting on a curtain, a former set design that has to be taken away. Things are linked very intelligently and conveniently. I noted many moments where something is talked about but also carried out on stage, which is quite rare to this extent: "The white and violet are kept as they were" and instantly we notice those colors on the floor. "In the old days we ate whole buckets of pickles" is being told proudly and later we can see those buckets used as lowly items to spit your vomit. "This (proposal) is trash" and so the paper of proposal is crumpled up into a literal trash. Or that if a character throws keys angrily, the actions are orally hosted and interpreted. Excellent and refreshing!

But oh, was the toothpaste-kissing awful to watch.

Maijala can also build very aesthetic and beautiful moments and images on stage: everyone else is sitting on the couch neatly (see the previous picture) on the left and on the right we can see the outsider, Lopahin on his own, just at the right spot opposite of the couch on the other side of the stage.

The images are given time to breath, they're not taken away as soon as we see them, which happens too often in performances.

Timing of the moments is important and we can see it further on in the play too: one character helps the other to put on his jacket, but first he helps it on him the wrong way. These two characters face each other and gaze from eye to eye. Just a little moment, a pause, and the jacket is turned around, rightways, and the conversation is continued too, but just that little moment itself brought perfect pacing. Also when Ranevskaja and her children Anja (graceful Sonja Kuittinen) and Varja (fiery Emilia Sinisalo) walked across the stage in fine dresses. The rhythmic, almost musical pacing Maijala talked about in an earlier interview goes on in the fussing Gajev (physical Kari Mattila) too who got an order to shut up: "Yes, I'll shut up", he sits on the couch and for a moment we believe that he'll stay there, "but now I have to say--" and he rises up to fuss on. Perfect!

At times the ends of the lines of the actors got a little fogged: the most I enjoyed of Chicke Ohanwe's monologue as Lopahin on the plan he had for the Cherry Orchard. The thought behind it was very clear and we were able to hear it in his speaking. That same kind of clear thinking and sorting out of imagined things would have been needed in his beginning monologue too though. Nevertheless he owned some of the best moments in terms of performing with his short, ironic lines. Charlotta's (fluid Aino Seppo) monologue would have needed more voice to take our attention completely away from the rattling that happened behind the closed curtains, I think.

The performance breaks the lines and limits of the stage in various ways, but my favorite one ended up being Jepihodov's (the delighting Eero Saarinen) monologue on Henry Thomas Buckle. He shouts about him and asks if the audience has heard about Buckle. He's desperate and when he gets the most angry I couldn't help but yell back at him: "Sorry!" He pauses for a moment to gasp air: "Sorry?!" He repeats my sayings: "You uncultured vulgars!" He scolds us and waddles away.

The staging by Janne Vasama is well thought out too: the glamorous life and lights are hidden in the cherry trees and the same pair of Grisha's tiny shoes we saw earlier are on their same place in the brand new setting.

The football went past my head (luckily-- oh, I mean) but it brought some foundation for the gorgeous ending!

The show brings things together from as early things as the first advertisements: midway through the play I grasped that the strange little boy in the first advertisements that weren't much seen later on, was the drowned Grisha!

This show is visually astonishing in various ways, but I want to pinpoint especially the lightings by Mika Ijäs at the "Rabbit sat on the ground" -scene, which was very touching with the string quartet and all. I want to believe that the smiley faces formed by the lightings on the green balloons at the aggressive and dark "Get out!" -scene was by accident... Please?

The ending was damn beautiful and brought tears to my eyes.

To me the Cherry Orchard spoke about how one doesn't want to face her past. The madame is so perky, coming to the surroundings of her traumas, yet she doesn't want to deal with the things that haunt her. Only when the future is glaring at the horizon she runs inside, becoming like a stone at the feet of things not processed.

The Cherry Orchard at the Helsinki City theatre is distinctive and loud in various ways.

Photos: Stefan Bremer
Article: Rosanna Liuski

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