Confession: Estonian theatre is not an area I'm particularly well-read in. Second confession: Nor is Estonia generally, in fact. Nor any of the Baltic countries, which seem to have their own EU, sandwiched between Russia, Poland, and Scandinavia. What I know of the country I know from friends, or the occasional traveler's tales. Sometimes, small oddities appear in relation to the activities of the Soviet Union - for example, the significant bomber base at Raadi or the secret submarine research facility in Lahemaa National Park (not quite akin to the military dolphin training facility in Simferepol, but at least a little curious).
Nevertheless, here I am in Tartu, Estonia's 'second city', preparing to spend the week writing about Estonian and Baltic theatre as part of the annual DRAAMA festival. Like many other second cities, Tartu has a reputation for being quietly superior to its bigger sister (the capital, Tallinn) with a huge University population (about 20% of the city) and a significant amount of government installations. Sure enough, Tartu is filled with cultural institutions, and with a population of only 100,000, walking around the city's monolithic structures, one feels there must be one for every 1000 citizens.
Many of the festival's performance happen in the Vanemuine Theatre, known as the birthplace of Estonian Theatre. Here several plays from the 5-year theatre project "Tale of the Century" ("Sajandi lugu" in Estonian) will be staged, which make up a good 70% of the programming for DRAAMA. Tale of the Century is an interesting undertaking in its own right - a collaborative project across multiple large institutions and small companies in Estonia, in celebration of 100 years of Estonian Republic. Each piece is a collaboration between a big and a small company, and represents a decade of Estonian history told through theatre.
On top of this, there are contributions from the Estonian National Museum, whose Seven Brothers a.k.a The Seagull of the Ural Mountains looks at Estonia's neighbours, Finland. Beatrice, at the Vanemuine, examines the ordinariness of love in the future. The love theme continues with RAAM's Praegu Pole aeg Armastamiseks (which I might nervously translate into 'No Time for Love'), following the myth of Amphitryon. Cabaret Siberia is a collaboration between Tallinn's Piip & Tuut Theatre and Latvian group Teatris TT, which sees its protagonists, pre-WW2 cabaret performers, transported to Siberia and having to entertain for their survival. Teisitimõtleja ('Dissident') is the story of a rebellious youth and an attempt to control his energies from Vaba Lava, whilst Jaanipäev ('St. John's Day') from Estonian Drama Theatre is a documentary work investigating Estonian national identity from a visit to one of the last Russian enclaves of Estonian ethnicity (about 180 people), in Upper Seutuk, Siberia.
Rounding things up, a one-day conference at the University of Tartu called 'Baltic Lines' will see speakers from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia discuss issues of national identity in theatre writing, how to export theatre, and comedy. Sunday, I pile back on the bus for the slightly grueling 24-hour journey home, which will no doubt be less pleasant than the preceding week.
Tere!
The full program of DRAAMA is available here.
Some excluded productions without English translation are available on the Estonian version here.
One of the festival venues, 'Sisevete Saatkond', is also Estonia's oldest riverboat (a century old, in fact).
Nevertheless, here I am in Tartu, Estonia's 'second city', preparing to spend the week writing about Estonian and Baltic theatre as part of the annual DRAAMA festival. Like many other second cities, Tartu has a reputation for being quietly superior to its bigger sister (the capital, Tallinn) with a huge University population (about 20% of the city) and a significant amount of government installations. Sure enough, Tartu is filled with cultural institutions, and with a population of only 100,000, walking around the city's monolithic structures, one feels there must be one for every 1000 citizens.
Many of the festival's performance happen in the Vanemuine Theatre, known as the birthplace of Estonian Theatre. Here several plays from the 5-year theatre project "Tale of the Century" ("Sajandi lugu" in Estonian) will be staged, which make up a good 70% of the programming for DRAAMA. Tale of the Century is an interesting undertaking in its own right - a collaborative project across multiple large institutions and small companies in Estonia, in celebration of 100 years of Estonian Republic. Each piece is a collaboration between a big and a small company, and represents a decade of Estonian history told through theatre.
On top of this, there are contributions from the Estonian National Museum, whose Seven Brothers a.k.a The Seagull of the Ural Mountains looks at Estonia's neighbours, Finland. Beatrice, at the Vanemuine, examines the ordinariness of love in the future. The love theme continues with RAAM's Praegu Pole aeg Armastamiseks (which I might nervously translate into 'No Time for Love'), following the myth of Amphitryon. Cabaret Siberia is a collaboration between Tallinn's Piip & Tuut Theatre and Latvian group Teatris TT, which sees its protagonists, pre-WW2 cabaret performers, transported to Siberia and having to entertain for their survival. Teisitimõtleja ('Dissident') is the story of a rebellious youth and an attempt to control his energies from Vaba Lava, whilst Jaanipäev ('St. John's Day') from Estonian Drama Theatre is a documentary work investigating Estonian national identity from a visit to one of the last Russian enclaves of Estonian ethnicity (about 180 people), in Upper Seutuk, Siberia.
Rounding things up, a one-day conference at the University of Tartu called 'Baltic Lines' will see speakers from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia discuss issues of national identity in theatre writing, how to export theatre, and comedy. Sunday, I pile back on the bus for the slightly grueling 24-hour journey home, which will no doubt be less pleasant than the preceding week.
Tere!
The full program of DRAAMA is available here.
Some excluded productions without English translation are available on the Estonian version here.
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