Two red nosed clowns are in quixotic mood, just as the famous knight-errant sought to bring order to a tumultuous world, they are here to save the city.
They will recount Cervantes’ epic, the first European novel, a 1000-page marathon that isn’t, in their opinion, a great book but does provide the perfect opportunity for theatre. It sees the Ingenious Gentleman so infatuated with his books on chivalry that he loses his wits and decides to be a knight.
They transform themselves into Don Quixote (“The tall one”, not a young hero and not too handsome) and his garrulous peasant squire Sancho Panza and set out at dawn on the road across the vast plains of La Mancha – which apparently is like touring the show in Finland.
They will be beaten up, a lot, another thing which apparently suits the extremes of Finnish humour.
“No story can be bad as long as it is true” they comment, but things might not be perceived the same way by different people, particularly by Don Quixote who tilts at windmills as monsters and sees 2-star inns as castles.
When Don Quixote decides to commit mad acts in the Sierra, he thinks it requires him to strip from the waist down and do a couple of leaps in the air, and a few somersaults, heels over head. And just when you think, surely not, well …
At this point in the novel Sancho wheels his horse around so as not to see the display a second time. A couple in the front row leave, seemingly having seen (more than) enough and Vasama (Panza) comments that we only have to see it once, whereas after performing the show for over four years it haunts his every night.
What’s the worst that can happen? For Ruuskanen (Quixote) it would be being pelted by the audience with tomatoes. You can see where this is going.
All this madness veils the questioning of authority and tackling of injustices in a challenging world, as in the novel. The metafictional Arabic source of the first chapters leads to the contributions of Moorish culture in Spain and the Christian “reconquering”. Quixotes’ attacks on windmills are risky pokes at the Catholic church. More up to date are political issues such as Brexit, climate change and the rise of populism.
Classic clowning, some Commedia dell'arte-like mask theatre and music are thrown into the mix in the fitting Spiegel tent setting. With four centuries of love songs available there is no need to resort to sonnets. They dip into Jefferson Airplane, Oasis, Sonny and Cher, Dylan and Lennon. While it’s generally well-paced it does feel a little uneven, perhaps from being reduced in length.
This entertaining show is both very silly and clever. Maybe the delusion of noble intent could be paranoia in reverse – they might believe in a conspiracy to make people happy.
Show times: 9 to 25 (not 19) August 2024 at 2.30pm.
Tickets: £13.50 (£12.50) to £14.50 (£13.50)
Suitability: 16+ (contains nudity).