Teatterikirja : Kirjoitelmia ja näyttelijäkuvia by Lauri Haarla
"Teatterikirja : Kirjoitelmia ja näyttelijäkuvia" by Lauri Haarla is a collection of theatre essays and actor portraits written in the early 20th century. The volume examines Finnish stage art in both aesthetics and practice, combining critical reflections on drama’s purpose with intimate psychological profiles of actors and discussions of theatre’s organization and craft. The opening of this collection declares a mission to expand Finland’s sparse theatre literature, especially through psychologically acute actor
studies, while also justifying practical essays on theatre as an institution. It begins with a major portrait of Hilda Pihlajamäki as a “priestess of destiny,” contrasting her era with Ida Aalberg’s and praising her extraordinary transformative power, dramatic instinct, and matured depth. An essay on theatre’s “heroic service” then surveys history from classical Greece through the Renaissance and Schiller to modern expressionism, contrasting apollonian passivity with faustian will and arguing for theatre’s moral, personality-centered mission in a time of upheaval. A profile of Aarne Leppänen highlights his exceptional capacity for self-surrender to roles and his range from active romantic heroes to suffering figures, alongside noted limits in rapid, cerebral dialogue. A brief “genesis” of the play Synti roots its inspiration in a childhood vision of innocent suffering and a 17th‑century Finnish setting and idiom. The section closes with a sensitive portrait of Tyyne Juntto—especially her consummate Acacia in Benavente—and the start of a theoretical piece on dramatic imperatives that rejects hazy romanticism and flattening naturalism/realism in favor of a tightened, will-driven, expressionist intensity. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
