At the Theater: Robin Hoodin Sydän

Image from http://www.logomo.fi/

We saw Robin Hoodin Sydän (The Heart of Robin Hood) at Logomo yesterday. The play had a new take on the legend, with Robin Hood just robbing the rich but not giving to the poor. Enter Maid Marion,  the Duke of York's daughter, who wants to join the outlaws and help the people suffering under heavy taxes levied by Prince John. Marion is pretty kickass, but Robin doesn't let her into his boys' club. Well, Marion dresses up as a man, takes her trusty servant, and starts a competing outlaw business, and so "Martin of Sherwood" is born.  She gives her takings to the poor, though. Prince John arrives with a plan to marry Marion, and high jinks ensue, with a side of personal growth for Robin, of course.

A word of warning: the play's creators were inspired by Game of Thrones, so are some strong scenes in this. The recommended age limit is seven, but I'm not sure every seven-year-old would be okay watching this. One guy gets an arrow in the eye, the characters talk about murdering children, and the kids get kicked and dragged around by the hair. And . . . bits get cut off, not to be too spoilery.

The play had some awesome sword-fighting sequences, and I liked the sets and costumes. The cast gave a good performance, especially the kids, but I still felt that something was off a little. Sometimes you get so caught up in the story that you forget you're watching a play, but that didn't happen this time. I had a hard time putting my finger on what exactly was the problem, because I liked the play overall, but after discussing it with Hubby, I think it comes down to a matter of tone. This was a play aimed at children ( I think?), like the stuff they do at  summer stock theater, and there were physical gags and plays on words and actors hamming it up, all the stuff you'd expect. But then there was also the psycho Prince John (think Joffrey at his worst), and the a-bit-too-realistic violence.  There were a lot of kids in the audience. I think the thought of "should they be seeing this?" jolted me out of the play a few times. Maybe if this had been a production for adults, it might have been different. (Taking off my big, flowered bonnet now. The word for middle-aged ladies saying "but what about the children!?" is kukkahattutäti "flower-bonnet lady" in Finnish.)

Did you see the play? What did you think? Do we have matching bonnets, or were you fine with it?