Ties Mikä Lie!: Nelinäytöksinen Huvinäytelmä

A comedic play written in the early 20th century. Set in rural Finland just after the civil war, it follows a Helsinki actor-director, Kallio, invited to coach a youth society’s theatre, and his collision with local ways: the brisk leader Raila, an innkeeping couple, the blundering substitute policeman Matti, and the farmhands Maijastiina and Olli. The comedy springs from culture clash, hospitality and authority tested, and budding romances, as the villagers aim to stage Tukkijoki. The opening of the play shows an inn where the practical emäntä doubts the value of a city “theatre teacher,” even as Kallio arrives with Raila, is badgered by the zealous Matti, and struggles to get a proper meal and, above all, a room. Plans to rehearse Tukkijoki are set, but attempts to place Kallio with local families falter amid excuses, phone troubles, and prickly hosts. In Alatalo (Act II), Maijastiina resents being cast as Poropirkko and wants the Maija role; Olli is slow-tongued, and the household quietly reserves two rooms for the pair, nudging them toward marriage. When Kallio and Raila come to secure lodging, a comic flare-up ends with Maijastiina and Olli engaged and keeping the rooms, leaving Kallio still unhoused, while a village custom of celebratory singing in the big hall underscores the community’s proud, cautious hospitality.