Review Laul Sipirja lastest tackles painful themes without weighing down audiences

ERR theatre reviewer Pille-Riin Purje says the summer production Laul Sipirja lastest remains engaging despite its painful themes, including war, death, leaving home and the destruction of a home village.

The musical is being staged at Laitse Graniitvilla, a performance venue. It is based on Finnish writer Timo K. Mukka’s novel, published in 1966 and translated into Estonian by Ants Paikre in Loomingu Raamatukogu in 1982.

In 1998, Ingomar Vihmar directed the work at Ugala Theatre for the first time. Actor Margo Mitt and musician Margus Põldsepp, who provides the music for the current production, also took part in that staging.

In this year’s programme note, Vihmar writes that nearly 30 years later, the story seems to him just as tender and piercing. He asks whether the story is about war, then answers: “Rather, about love.”

The novel creates a suggestive reading experience. Its events are harsh and oppressive, but its distinctive, austere and detached narrative style sometimes presents deeply affecting events almost casually, making their impact even sharper.

Adapting such a text for the stage is difficult, but Vihmar has previously worked with stage adaptations of Finnish literature, including Leea Klemola’s Kokkola, Antti Tuuri’s The River Flows Through the City and 15 Metres to the Left, and Pipsa Lonka’s Songs by the Grey Sea. In 1997, he also directed Jaan Oks’s Cypress Hill at Ugala Theatre, and Oks can in some respects be compared with Mukka.

Although the production deals with war, deaths, the abandonment of home and the destruction of a village, it is not difficult or oppressive to watch. The staging plays with contrasts in mood, while small moments of eccentricity add humour. Põldsepp’s songs, which the reviewer would have liked to hear more often, bring the freshness of a gust of wind.

The production features six actors who share the narration of events and the creation of different characters. Movement on the stage platform is generally sparse, while the stage scenes occasionally extend into the auditorium.

Paul Samuel Vihmar is the only performer who remains in one role, playing Timo, the author and reflective observer. The introverted role is demanding, particularly for such a young performer, as it requires strong inner tension rooted in both life and stage experience. Timo’s time on stage is therefore above all a valuable learning experience. Vihmar also controls the stage lighting, symbolically casting light on Timo’s memories. Timo’s longed-for Ulla remains unseen, existing only as an imagined figure.

The other actors switch flexibly between roles. Alden Kirss, whose transparent presence could also have suited the role of Timo, takes eagerly and sensitively to every opportunity to play, although the reviewer regrets that he has relatively few moments on stage. Mirtel Pohla also lacks a true solo moment, although the trio of women maintains tension in unison while moving fluidly between tragic and comic registers.

Merle Palmiste is compelling throughout, in painful and unsettled grief as well as in her earthy wisdom, and she is equally convincing in a brief male role.