Слишком толстая для бабочки (Liian paksu perhoseksi)

The story of “Too thick to be a butterfly” begins in the 1960s, at a time when a structural change took place in Finland. An economic recession at the time had a fierce grip on society, and rural areas were increasingly abandoned as people fled to Sweden in hope of a better life. The play’s main character is the unusually big and strong woman Kaisu. Already in confirmation school she had put the shot further than the parish champion himself, and later she carries dead pigs if need be. She can lift any man even with straight arms. Kaisu leaves home and gets a job as a sales assistant in Ruutinoja’s small grocery store. The owner of this meagerly running shop is the frail man Erni. Not fearing work, Kaisu starts her own relentless war against filth, flies and cockroaches. Together with Erni, she makes sure that the store is run successfully. Soon, the enormous Kaisu and the tiny Erni fall in love and get married. Erni’s mother never accepts the marriage, and his sister constantly makes him pay for all her expenses. Kaisu loses the child they had been piously waiting for. Not having a child remains a sensitive spot at the bottom of her soul. In just three decades Kaisu and Erni go through almost everything that usually occurs in the course of a human lifetime. They love, quarrel, change and make up again with each other. Life is not sparing with them. Erni drifts between his extravagant sister, his bossy mother and his Kaisu. Kaisu learns to swallow her anger and bitterness towards Erni’s relatives as well as to accept her own loss. Together they struggle to free themselves from debts. “Too thick to be a butterfly” is a love story and the account of a woman and a man’s development. It is a play about people’s ability to survive. Kaisu and Erni cope with their lives and marriage even though it isn’t easy. The events are accompanied by warm humour; tears and laughter take turns all through the play. “Too thick to be a butterfly” is a comedy and a tragedy at the same time. A beautiful moonlight and a melancholic starry sky are the background to this poor man climbing into his large wife’s lap out of sheer affection. Kaisu, who is far too thick to be a butterfly, says: “Happiness is when there isn’t too much unhappiness.” (Tinfo/Sunklo)