Melkein ihmisiä

Tukkateatteri celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Amuri Museum of Historic Housing with the world premiere of Melkein ihmisiä, based on the novel of the same name by Aune Mäkinen. The play has been dramatized for Tukkateatteri by Katri Häti and Mia-Annette Latvus, who also co-direct the production.

Melkein ihmisiä is a comedic portrayal of everyday life in a shared kitchen apartment in the Amuri district. Set in the summer of 1935, the play transports audiences to the working-class life of Tampere, featuring neighborhood drama, celebrations, bootlegging, romantic entanglements, and above all, dreams of a better life.

Hanna and her son Antti move into one of Amuri’s shared kitchen flats and quickly become part of the lively community. Jenny, the laundress from the neighboring room, runs the apartment, with the eccentric Laina and the strict “kitchen police” Pauliina adding their own spice to the shared living space. The courtyard is home to many characters, including the charming janitor Eelis, who captivates women as far as Pispalanharju. The local men smuggle alcohol, and Jenny’s husband Hemmo is also drawn to the lure of easy money.

Aune Mäkinen (1920–2011) was a columnist and author, best known for her novel Melkein ihmisiä, published in the late 1990s. For the book, Mäkinen interviewed long-time residents of Amuri, and over a span of more than 30 years, these conversations were transformed into the novel Melkein ihmisiä.

© Emilia Lillsunde