The Last of the Red Hot Lovers at Theater Kultsa is a classic work well done, as promised
I was invited to see The Last of the Red Hot Lovers Theater in Cult. The crew of 6 has built the whole from props to sofa upholstery and largely.
The staging is believable and subtly simple, and it fits the story that it would star in Barney’s (delightfully timid role-playing, Rasmus Blomqvist) to the mother’s home. The decor is inspired by the 50s and the play itself takes place in the late 60s and early 70s, which works. Even when talking about American Cities, one can imagine everything happening in Helsinki, which is also good – or it was just me, but I still enjoy it.
The series is intense because nothing changes; time jumps take place in the minds of the public through lighting. Manager Marko Wilksman also did a great job directing different movements for our three different women. Elaine (thoughtful and fiery Rosa-Mariia Karlsson) sits and drinks, sometimes gets up and goes out (no other spoilers). Bobbi (strange and active Veera Kaukola) on the other hand is like a squirrel and cannot sit still or be without anything in its hand. Jeanette (by Laura Puronen whose wording fits perfectly with the old style of dialogue) then sits, covers himself with his bag and – thank God – uses a chair placed next to the stage. Like Checkhov’s gun, but used in the final show, fine enough.
As I meant there, the text is outdated and the crew has apparently made the choice that it is Focus. There are good breaks in the dialogue and things are well emphasized so that the audience stays in the stream all the time if you could focus on the story. Some may think there were boring points out there, but I personally like watching the show so eagerly that I entertain myself with good script and skilled actors like we had. There could have been more stagnation in the dialogue so we could really experience the characters ’messages – with them!
There could have been a little more detail in the acting / directing, for example, I saw Barney rebuke the pillows only a few times after he had explained how important it is to him that everything remains as if untouched in his mother’s home. So the same thing could have been done more often, albeit a small bet towards the pillows, so that the audience could read from the simple gesture the thoughts he had previously talked about cleanliness. So small gestures here and there that tell the story of the character – that I would have liked to see more.
I also think Barney had clear chemistry and attitudes toward our women: Elaine was the most charming, Bobbie was a fascinating and fun company, and Jeanette was Barney’s longtime friend to be cared for. My favorite parts were how Elaine drank spirits (and the motive behind it) and how dexually Barney spoke and behaved when Elaine was ready to marry. The contrast was good! As for Bobbie, I enjoyed the very last 5 or 10 minutes before the break (no spoilers) and overall how Bobbie couldn’t stop talking – it was very annoying, so it worked well. And as for Jeanette, I enjoyed listening to her speech, she had a great voice and perhaps the best thought breaks where we could see her thoughts on her face. The moral of the story that emerged also thought that Jeanette’s mental illness spoke to me loudly on a personal level.
All in all, the Last of the Red Hot Lovers Theater at the Cult has a text- and story-based play that the Actors have put on stage with a minimalist approach and good teamwork. I can recommend this because when you have great, classic text, you can hardly go wrong!