Last Call (Finland)

Last Call
Teatro Labora (Finland)
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014
@ C Cubed
Pleasantly surprised

It starts rather silly. Highly stylized solo performance accompanied by banal music and a subject matter is boozing championships. “It’s going to be a tough hour”- I thought to myself after first several minutes of watching the show. Although I wasn’t really engaged in it, I was listening to what was being said with somewhat skeptical attitude. But after a while, among many words and jokes, I heard a sentence I thought had a deeper meaning and then another and slowly I actually became interested in the show. Before the hour was up and the show was almost over, Juhe Hippi had my full and undivided attention. He’s worked so hard to get it, but man, I’m glad he did. Last Call, co-written and co-directed by Juhe Hippi and Mikko Raty is a brilliantly constructed piece of theatre. Hippi’s performance is highly imaginative and full of various forms. Through the eyes of several characters from different countries we take a look at effects of drinking alcohol, its culture (or lack of it), and mindlessness of the habit. What I love about that text is that, although it is about drinking, it doesn’t deal with alcoholism, per se. And that makes all the difference because so many people can relate to this story. Last Call is an important production. It challenges, inspires and forces audience to think. Hipp’s performance is excellent. He flips between various characters, including a Spirit of the Bottle, to finish with a personal message that is just a perfect end of the show. It is another solo piece that is personal and honest and made me feel truly pleasantly surprised.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/last-call