Harhama

Juha Hurme, an artistic powerhouse and the winner of the Finlandia -prize in 2017, directs his adaption of Irmari Rantamala’s debut novel at Espoo City Theatre. 

Harhama (1909) is a prodigious 1100-page autobiographical tale about a man searching for the meaning of life amid the crosscurrents of early 20th century ideologies and world historical events. As we witness Harhama writing his monumental objet d’art of autofiction, the performance evolves into a unique fusion portraying Harhama as well as the events his words describe. 

Juha Hurme metamorphosizes a feverishly grandiose novel of emerging Finnish national movement into a play. On stage, the impossible becomes possible. Rooted firmly in folk theatre tradition, Harhama’s tragic fate evokes the zeitgeist of his era.   

Irmari Rantamala is among the most intriguing characters of Finnish cultural history. He is also known as Algot Untola and by noms de plume Maiju Lassila, Väinö Stenberg, J. I. Vatanen, Liisan-Antti, and Jussi Porilainen. Maiju Lassila’s Tulitikkuja lainaamassa (1910), a comic novel that has been adapted for the screen and stage numerous times, is considered a true and enduring classic. Algot Untola was a teacher, journalist, writer, revolutionary, and an agitator who died in somewhat mysterious circumstances during the Finnish Civil War in 1918.

These are the ingredients that promise to make Juha Hurme’s Harhama the funniest, the most touching, the wisest, and the most unpredictable show on stage in the autumn of 2020

Premiere on September 16, 2020 in Espoo City Theatre, Revontuli Hall

Direction and adaptation Juha Hurme
Choreography Saara Hurme
Composition Petra Poutanen-Hurme
Lighting and Set Design Raisa Kilpeläinen
Costume Design  Reija Laine
Sound DesignTommi Koskinen

On Stage Tomi Alatalo, Eetu Känkänen, Antti Laukkarinen, Enni Ojutkangas, Cécile Orblin, Roosa Söderholm