The Summer Theater of Kievari and Theater Europe Four Proudly Presents: Arto Paasilinna's Happy Man.

Summer in Äänekoski is full of things to see and do. The local Kartano Kievari offers great experiences for culture-hungry visitors. Sinijapete went to see Teatteri Eurooppa Neljä’s latest production, Onnellinen mies. In this post, Peter Lindenberg shares his personal impressions of the performance.

The book is very familiar to me and is surely my favorite among Arto Paasilinna’s works. On Tuesday 22 June, at the preview, expectations and the atmosphere were very high, and the house was nearly full. 

Onnellinen mies

The story is about Akseli Jaatinen, a bridge engineer who arrives in Kuusmäki, a small parish, to build a new bridge. As a parish, Kuusmäki is very traditional, an insular Finnish small town where anything unfamiliar is unwelcome. Sound familiar?

Jaatinen’s demeanor as a bicycle-riding, down-to-earth engineer does not please the municipal officials or even the local vicar. But because Jaatinen gets along with his workers, they cannot evict him from the bridge worksite, where the whole chain of events begins. Mayor Jämminki, Construction Foreman Kainulainen, Sheriff Kavonkulma, Reverend Roivas, and many others will eventually realize they shouldn’t have messed with Jaatinen.

Post-show impressions

Eurooppa Neljä has wrapped Paasilinna’s novel up excellently and quite coherently, respecting the original story. They have included the most essential parts for the narrative and, on the other hand, have also known what to cut. The icing on the cake is the skillfully arranged and performed music. The live band’s skill and excellence will surely become clear to the audience as the story progresses.

The result is once again a brilliant theater experience, which only TE4 can deliver. Ticket sales are already hot, so book your ticket today!