Jyväskylä City Theatre’s autumn main work, the musical Suruttomat, takes the audience to the dark Finland of the late 19th century. The husband controlled the wife’s property, minorities were discriminated against, and drinking was more of a virtue than an embarrassing vice.
Four years after its publication, the play The Worker’s Wife influenced legislation improving equality.
If the world has changed since the end of the 19th century, it has changed in the twenty years since the first performance of Suruttomite in Tampere.
– Terrible turmoil in less than twenty years. The equal marriage law reform five years ago, the Me Too movement, the Black Lives Matter movement around the world, all kinds of things, Keinonen lists.
According to Jaana Pesonen, there is still work for a world healer like Minna Canthi in Finland today, because the construction of equality is still in progress.
– After all, art is a great tool of influence and there is always room for those who have something to say and a tool in their possession.
Romaniyhdistys helps in telling the story of Romani culture
– We have always had a connection with the Finnish Romani Association. That dialogue has created security in bringing out a different kind of world.
Director Jukka Keinonen confirms that the Roma culture section of the musical was examined under a special magnifying glass.
– Who can present what and how. The association gave advice and was about to accept our solution.
The Suruttomat musical has a strong Jyväskylä connection.
Minna Canth, who wrote the original play, lived in Jyväskylä for a long time. Writer Sirkku Peltola, director Jukka Keinonen and guest actress Jaana Pesonen started their theater careers in the 1980s at the Jyväskylä Student Theater. The lyricist of the songs Heikki Salo, on the other hand, had an impact at Ylioppilastalo as a producer and founded Miljoonasate in the 80s in Jyväskylä.
– There is a bit of a reunion mood here, although we have come a long way apart, but there is a really warm spirit now, Keinonen praises.
– When you come to Jyväskylä, of course you think about where it came from, how much water has flowed in the waterways, and here it is still busy, Pesonen muses.
Heikki Salo’s lyrics complement Minna Canthi’s text
– In my opinion, a good musical is one in which the songs move the story forward and raise it to an emotional level. Hessu’s great lyrics are an organic part of the whole, praises Jaana Pesonen.
The Suruttomat musical reveals the contradictory people of the past with their desires and shame in the cycles of love, betrayal and revenge. Director Keinonen admits that it is very beneficial if the musical has a good subject.
– Well, if you think about love, love triangle, equality and human rights, I can’t think of a bigger and better topic right now.
Suruttomat deals with quite big themes: the weak position of women, ethnic discrimination and harmful masculinity. However, according to the authors, the main message of the musical is quite clear.
– Take care of each other, says Jukka Keinonen.
– Be human, that’s it. If you are not humane, unequal situations, hate speech and unnecessary arguments between different population groups arise, sums up Jaana Pesonen.
_You can discuss the topic on 3.9. until 23:00._