Heath Cobblers

Albert Edelfelt's drawing from the performance of the Heath Cobblers play in Helsinki in the spring of 1876.

The Cobblers on the Heath[1] (or Heath Cobblers[2] in Douglas Robinson's 1993 translation; Finnish: Nummisuutarit) is a play by Aleksis Kivi. The play was originally written in 1864. However, the play's official premiere took place only three years after Kivi's death; it was performed for the first time in Oulu on 24 September 1875.[3][4]

The play is divided into five acts: the first act takes place in the room of Topias, the master cobbler, the second in the spacious house of Karri, the owner, and the third takes us to Hämeenlinna and the Halfway House Inn (’Puolmatkan krouvi’). The fourth act takes place in a forest, while the fifth and final act is played out outside Topias's room.

In Finland, Heath Cobblers has been considered a masterpiece of dramatic literature, which has also been translated into more than ten languages.[5] As many as three film adaptations have also been made on the basis of the Heath Cobblers, The Village Shoemakers in 1923, and other adaptations in 1938 and 1957.

  1. ^ Aleksis Kivi. "NUMMISUUTARIT | Kansallisteatteri". Kansallisteatteri.fi. Retrieved 2016-04-27.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Aleksis Kivi's Heath Cobblers ('Nummisuutarit') A Comedy in five acts, translated by Douglas Robinson (1993, St Cloud, Minnesota)
  3. ^ "Aleksis Kivi". Naytelmat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ Heikkinen, Anu (18 May 2015). "Janne Reinikainen: Suomalainen saa voimansa kostosta ja pettymyksestä". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Aleksis Kivi – kansalliskirjailija". aleksiskivi-kansalliskirjailija.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 24 September 2023.