Film director JP Siili brings Mannerheim play to Savonlinna

Film director and screenwriter JP Siili has written his first play, about C.G.E. Mannerheim before he became a marshal. “Marskin ennustus” premieres at Savonlinna Theatre on November 6, Yle reports.

The story is set after the end of Russian tsarist rule, when Mannerheim, a general who had served the tsar for decades, was effectively out of work. At a social gathering, a fortune teller hired to entertain guests predicts his future. Mannerheim sets out to fulfil the prophecy.

Siili said he became interested in the idea of the prediction and researched it, including through Mannerheim’s memoirs. In the play, Mannerheim fulfils it to the letter, but not in the way he had intended.

The project was originally planned as a television series, but Siili said the scale and funding required proved impractical. He then discussed the idea with Alexander Anria, director of Savonlinna Theatre, who suggested he write it as a play.

Siili said he had to adjust to the different demands of theatre. Film can move freely between times and places through images, while a stage production has more limits. He also came to value theatre’s use of dialogue and monologue.

Anria is directing the production. He described the script as one of the most interesting and challenging he has worked with, and said it presents less familiar aspects of Mannerheim to audiences. He said the theatre would use the production to bring out the story and its central character despite the company’s small size.

Lauri Kortelainen plays Mannerheim. He has prepared for the role by reading books and said it was important to show the person behind the myth.

Tags: theatre, culture, Savonlinna