Perankoski premieres play about silence with Hynynen’s ballads

Mari Perankoski’s musical play Menomekko, about a family’s difficulty expressing love across generations, will premiere at Varkaus Theatre on Saturday, September 12, Yle reports. Perankoski wrote and directed the production, while her partner, Jouni Hynynen of the band Kotiteollisuus, composed its music.

The play follows the fictional Nyyssönen family from post-war Finland to the present day. It explores the trauma of silence familiar to many families, including the struggle to speak openly about emotions.

In one scene set in the 1970s, a father becomes furious when his son says he wants to study fashion design. In a small factory town where boys are expected to become welders or paper workers, the father sends his son to work at a car factory in Sweden.

Ville-Veikko Valtanen, who plays the father, said his character Kassu has deep love for his wife and children but cannot express it verbally. Instead, he shows his feelings by stacking firewood or repairing the cellar door.

Perankoski said Kassu’s taciturn character draws on people in her own family, including Hynynen and his father. Some of the character’s lines are also based directly on things they have said, she added.

Although the play deals with serious subjects, Perankoski said she wanted to balance them with humour.

“The best play is one where people laugh through their tears,” she said. “I hope the audience has a healing experience.”

Stories from home

Menomekko is Perankoski’s first theatre script and her first directing job. The idea for the play came from Sari Kirjavainen, the costume designer at Varkaus Theatre. Kirjavainen and Perankoski have been friends since their punk years.

The play also includes memories from Perankoski’s youth. She said her mother had a strong sense of humour and knew many witty sayings, some of which appear directly in the dialogue.

Perankoski has previously written television series including Ranuan kummit and Kallio. She said writing for theatre required a different approach from television, where editing can be used to shape scenes afterwards. In theatre, scene changes must be planned precisely.

Ballads replace heavy rock

Hynynen had not previously composed music for theatre. The songs he wrote for Menomekko are calm and ballad-like, unlike the heavy rock music he makes for Kotiteollisuus.

He said the composition process is essentially the same whether he is writing for his band or for a play, adding that he always starts by making songs for himself.

One of the songs is titled “Romantiikkaa, perkele”, which translates roughly as “Romance, damn it”. Hynynen also helped Perankoski develop the script, particularly the way the “street men” in the play speak.

Although Menomekko is Perankoski’s first directing project, the actors have praised her work. Saara Saastamoinen, who plays one of the leading roles, described her as a gentle and precise director who gives actors freedom. Saastamoinen said Perankoski’s background as an actor helps her intervene in the right places.