Category: Theatre

If you don’t have plans for the weekends, the Estonian ballet evening is a must-see for you. The performance consists of three separate parts and each one of them tells its own story.

The first one is ‘Thread’ by Tiit Helimets. It was created to show the director’s view of the way human beings grow and develop throughout their lives. Honestly, this part was pretty hard to understand from a position of an unprepared spectator but still amazing to watch. Anyway, I believe there is no shame in interpreting the performance differently, not like it was supposed to be interpreted.

The second part is called ‘Echo’ staged and directed by Eve Mutso. It is dedicated to the idea of everything we did in the past and are doing right now affecting the lives of others. The director especially wants to celebrate the concept of people uniting and achieving their goals together, with the help of their nearest and dearest. The ballet itself was simply beautiful, including both classical and modern elements.

‘Keep a Light in the Window’ by Jevgeni Grib is my absolute favourite among all of the parts. The stage was decorated as a house with several apartments. We get to see what is happening there, silently watching the life of different people. I think every one of us can find something they find familiar, draw a parallel with their own life. This performance was the thing I loved most about the ballet evening because it was so real and so relatable but still breathtaking.

To sum up, if you want to see something both purely Estonian and absolutely outstanding, this is the right thing to choose.

More information about the event: http://kultuur.info/event/ballet-evening-estonian-ballet-100/

Performers: Jim Ashilevi, Rene Köster, Kaido Torn, Minna-Triin Kohv
Artist: Kaitlin Pirnpuu
Sound design: Kenn-Eerik Kannike
Light design: Rommi Ruttas
Video artist: Ragnar Markus
Software solutions: Kert Ojasoo, Kristin Ehala
Directing consultant: Katrina Duka
Producer: Johanna-Mai Riismaa

It seems to me that virtual space can be compared to a sauna, where everyone has eagerly taken off their clothes for pleasure or well-being, regardless of the fact that the result may be heat causing horrendous pain and subsequent disappointment.

It is clear that the collective that has gathered behind the name Electronic God is worried about the situation where virtual reality is more real than reality itself. Internet serves as a basis for immediate response thus zeroing out emotions and context that are otherwise present in human relationships. Which form of communication is more real?

The performance Sauna at the Kumu auditorium began even before all the people had found their seat in the hall. The pace of the show and a good atmosphere were set up with an engaging dance on the stage and between the rows of seats. The tools or requisites for expressing ideas on the stage were a plastic wall that split the stage into two and a screen from which you could read that the audience will be drawn out from the passive role, giving them the task of logging in to a certain webpage. The culmination of this act will be revealed at the end of the show.

Plastic has a symbolic meaning in the context of Sauna. The relationship between the “real self” and the “virtual self” is characterized by a metaphorical plastic, illustrating how we, by means of the information available on the Internet, get closer to somebody, but never really reach them. Something stays between us. The one thing that I think is emphasized in the performance is that if the “virtual self” bites you, then it’s painful and real.

The idea of the show is largely based on how we create the self-image on the Internet and how it is evaluated. Managing a curated Instagram account and counting together the likes is almost everyone’s everyday life. Here, I’m not talking about those who swim upstream, but most of the people. One sore point that was touched, was the possibility to stay anonymous in the virtual room. This anonymity is actually a weapon that allows us to really heart somebody. The audience had a supposedly anonymous opportunity during the performance to decide which performance on the stage was the most memorable and how to punish the performer who failed.

The virtual reality is like a sauna, where everyone can turn on the heat. After that, everyone will independently lick their wounds or wash themselves clean. I believe it is important to talk about the perception of life related to virtual reality. For me, it’s important how to distinguish what is important in this growing amount of information. The way how all these ideas were expressed in the performance was a bit boring for me. Although there were a lot of good actors and dancers on stage, the best in them was not revealed. The culmination of the show was Jim Ashilevi singing Radiohead’s Creep, which could be followed by random people through Chatroulette in addition to those who were in the audience.

Sauna can be seen a few more times, it will be played at the Kumu auditorium on December 10 and 11, 2018.

Catherine I is an Estonian ballet performance by Toomas Edur to the music of Tauno Aints, which has been a part of the Estonian National Opera repertoire since March 2018. Presenting this particular relatively young performance is of a great importance to Estonian culture as it is not aimed at just paying tribute to the history but at telling a story of Catherine I of Russia, who is believed to have been born in Estonia. Who is Catherine I and why Toomas Edur chooses her story to be staged at the main Estonian theatre?

Catherine I, whose original name was Marta Skowrońska, was a peasant woman who made her way from a maiden to the second wife of Peter I the Great and later – an empress of Russia. Orphaned at the age of 3, she was raised by a Lutheran Priest. During the Great Northern War, Marta was taken a prisoner and handed over to a close adviser of Peter I. Shortly thereafter, she became lovers with the Tsar.

After the birth of their first child, she joined the Russian Orthodox church and became Peter’s companion, following him wherever he went. Some years later, she became his wife and after his death – was crowned empress-consort of Russia.

It is not her companionship or assistance to the Tsar that is celebrated. The main accent is on her own personality and how her character and attitude influence Peter the Great’s decisions and choices. The author certainly does not share the common opinion about Catherine I being extremely lucky to become what she has become. Toomas Edur wants to tell a story of a smart and self-sufficient woman, who was not an accessory but someone worth being loved by the Tsar and becoming an empress of Russia.

This ballet seemed different from the majority of the Estonian National Opera shows as it equally emphasizes the importance of the plot and the beauty of the dance, while it is usually the choreography that gets the most attention.

Has Toomas Edur managed to make a truthful story attractive to all the kinds of audiences? Yes! Is it worth seeing? Totally!

More information on the upcoming performances: http://kultuur.info/event/catherine-i/

Today and in the next few days, it’s possible to see a performance Sauna by the start-up theatre company Elektrooniline Jumal (Electronic God) at Kumu auditorium. The production examines the modern understanding of vulnerability and the sense of life in the midst of our digital revolution. What is it about and what has sauna got to do with it – the director Barbara Lehtna sheds light on it.

How did you come up with the idea of physical theater performance Sauna?
The idea was born with Sten Õitspuu, who is actually the initiator of this project. We discussed the social media and internet as a topic with him and I started to think that sometimes I feel that the world around me is getting hotter and hotter – sometimes it feels like you’re in a sauna and someone else is controlling the temperature.

What should people expect when they decide on going to see the performance? Is it in Estonian?
Very physical bodies on stage, warm humour, but also discomfort in the best of ways, chills, but also the feeling that the characters on stage are actually very familiar to ourselves.

Who do you consider your biggest creative influencers?
I’m very influenced by the Austrian choreographer Doris Uhlich, because I have now danced in her dance company already for many years. Also, I could name Sasha Pepeljajev and his kinetic stage language that has really stuck with me.

You have called Electronic God a start-up theatre company, what does it mean?
The term, of course, comes from the business world, where the point of start-ups is to really focus on a specific issue over a period of time. We also feel that this is similar to our aim – to focus on the topic of technology, internet and social media. We also work in the same frame – we have a certain amount of time and a certain amount of money and we either make it or go down. Hopefully this time we have made it.

What’s next after the Sauna project?
The next plans are already cooking and as the purpose of Electronic God is to create one piece a year to really concentrate also on pushing the quality up, we can say that we will create another piece within the next year. On the meantime every member of the group is also working on their solo projects: for instance, I’m bringing out my next physical theatre piece out already in spring and it will be called “Together Forever”.

Why should I come and see Sauna? When can I do that?
I have also asked myself if I was a part of the audience then what would make me go and I think it’s the feeling I get sometimes that technology is sometimes like a war starting to happen – you may not want to deal with it, but you’re left with no choice. Maybe coming to see the piece is already a good way to deal with this topic. We are looking forward to seeing the audience from the 15th of November until the 17th at Kumu auditorium.

The next performances of Sauna take place on November 15, 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. at Kumu auditorium.

Photo: Ailan Daniel Mark

Giselle is a romantic ballet by the French composer Adolphe Adam — one of the most famous performances of the classical choreographic repertoire. For the first time, the ballet was presented on the stage of the Paris Opera in 1841 and since 2017 it has been performed at the Estonian National Opera.

The ballet is based on a story of a peasant girl named Giselle, who dies of a broken heart after discovering her lover is betrothed to another. The Wilis (supernatural women who dance men to death) summon Giselle from her grave and decide to take her lover’s life as a part of their revenge mission. Giselle forgives her beloved one, Albrecht, and tries to save him from their revenge. The Wilis are one of the most iconic characters in Giselle — that is why the second act of the ballet is dedicated to them. It helps to understand their motivation and way of thinking, which is crucial for acknowledging the full play.

Dance is the most important way of expression used to tell the story. The solo parts related to the fantasy world include various flights, which give the impression of the characters soaring in the air. In the real-life-related parts, the dances are performed with increased emotionality and character.

I also would like to highlight the musical component of the ballet as a separate element, playing an important part in the plot and general impression of the audience. The music of Adam is not just a rhythmic accompaniment of dances: it is characterized by spirituality and poetry, it creates the mood and outlines the characters’ traits.

It is not surprising that Giselle is very popular among the visitors of the Estonian National Opera, thanks to its expressive, musical, and choreographic dramaturgy, romantic plot, brilliant parts of outstanding ballerinas, enchanting stage sets and costumes.

The next performances of Giselle take place on November 23, 2018, and on February 3 & 14, 2019: http://www.culture.ee/event/ballet-giselle/

NU Performance Festival 2018: Jerk, the radioplay
Direction: Gisèle Vienne
Text: Dennis Cooper
Original and live music: Peter Rehberg
Recorded voices: Jonathan Capdevielle, Dennis Cooper

NU Performance Festival 2018 gives you an opportunity to reconstruct a crime spree by an American serial killer Dean Corll who was assisted by two teenagers – Wayne Henley and David Brooks. There are actually two versions of this Gisèle Vienne’s directed play Jerk – the first version is played out as a puppet show and the second one as a radioplay. In Tallinn, you can experience the latter. You enter the studio, sit down in front of the loudspeakers, soon it goes dark and the journey begins …

It’s a first-person narrative describing the crimes which became known as the Houston Mass Murders as they were experienced by one of the teenage assistants of Corll – David Brooks, or a “drug-addicted, psychotic teen murderer in the early ’70s” as he appoints himself. He is now serving his life sentence in prison where he started to learn the art of puppets and the whole radioplay is presented as his performance to the professor William Griffith of the University of Texas and his undergraduate class in ‘Freudian Psychology Refracted Through Postmodern Example’.

The story begins with an existential problem raised by Dean Corll. He has come to the point where he realized that there’s tons of stuff going on inside the boys’ heads while they’ve been killed but he doesn’t know anything about them – except they’re cute – and it makes him feel like the dead boys don’t belong to him anymore. Dean’s teenage follower Wayne comes up with an idea that it doesn’t matter who the hell they are – killing is all about power and you can make up whoever you want and imagine that person in the dead body. So from now on, Dean gives the killed boys the whole new identities – now there will be Luke Halpin, the actor who played the older of the two sons on the TV show Flipper and Jay North from Dennis the Menace among his victims. As Wayne explains to David afterward – these imaginary characters are only what you see onscreen, they have no interior life unlike real human beings (who are impossible to understand!), so if you imagine that your victim is, for example, Luke Halpin or Jay North or, why not, Jimmy Page, you know exactly who you’ve killed and it makes the death more meaningful and complete.

The characters of the play are created, written and played out incredibly well and believable. The dialogues written by an American writer Dennis Cooper are sharp, witty, and, from time to time, darkly and painfully funny. The boys invited to Dean’s place are mostly depressed teenagers who are talked into death by manipulations and convincing of Dean. So while they end up in the basement of Dean’s apartment they have already decided that “murder is a cool concept” and “death just sounds like a great place”. A psychotic and somewhat unreliable narrator David adds an extra layer. He manages to balance subtly between admitting that he has been part of these grim crimes and, at the same time, being a plain eye-witness who is trying to distance himself from all that is happening. He sometimes acts as an almost lifeless object in a room where the crimes take place, hiding behind the Super 8 camera, being just a terrified observer, although now and then he is even standing on his tiptoes to get unusual angles, and thus contributing something special to Dean’s perverse film collection. We cannot be one hundred percent sure if angst and disgust in his voice are his genuine emotions or is it part of his attempt to present himself as a better human being than his depraved companions.

The music that is accompanying the whole radioplay is created by an author and performer of electronic audio works, Austrian based Peter Rehberg. Sometimes the sounds function as labyrinthic paths that make ways through your brain channels, illustrating perfectly the narrator’s phrase “They all get incredibly stoned”, and sometimes they are just mere hints of sounds that you may not even notice at first, but they still manage to set up the atmosphere and tonality of each scene. Music mostly stays in the background, but it builds up at some moments and culminates with a noisy and hellish chaos – just like the whole story.

As part of the NU Performance Festival, Jerk, the radioplay can be experienced once again today, on October 24, 2018, at the 1st Studio of Estonian Public Broadcasting (Kreutzwaldi 14).

On September 7, 2018, the production “Ship of Fools” premiered at the Theatre NO99. The story full of euphoric power and beauty about a man who sailed the seas on old ships, or the story about the madmen who traveled along with him, or the story about us, Estonians? Wild Captain, also known as Kihnu Jõnn or Enn Uuetoa (1848–1913), was a real person and sailed the seas without a compass and a sextant. Does this person share similarities with the Wild Captain Jörgen Liik enacts? Or is it even necessary?

More than half a century has passed since Juhan Smuul wrote “Ship of Fools”, but yet his story rises to the surface again despite its distance. Tiit Ojasoo lets it speak to us in a powerful and even a little bit frightening way. What is the sea associated with today? Finland? Estonians as the foreign workers in Finland? A perfect hit below the belt is the Finnish-speaking Anna Lipponen as Fortuna on the stage, on a ship called Fortuna. Or does the sea associates with Estonians who, after joining the European Union in 2004, could choose any place in Europe, later almost in the whole world to be the place where to live and work? And suddenly, we were freer than ever before, more ambitious and demanding than it was allowed in the 1990s. A little bit like the crew members of the Wild Captain. Free from the burden of land, women and responsibilities.

Who is the Wild Captain? I wouldn’t dare to think that he is an alter ego of Tiit Ojasoo like Veiko Märka suggested. He has been created as part of something larger – the ship to which he belongs. Jörgen Liik as the Wild Captain is strong and fragile at the same time, he is a crew and a captain at the same time. This is due to the fact that the stage on which the captain is moving around becomes a character itself and engages the actors. A simple plank that just moves up and down becomes just like a painting and the lines on it, it means the actors, make it come alive. But unlike a painting or a regular stage, it moves and becomes a character that reacts to the bodies or hooks that are on it.

In addition, Ene-Liis Semper’s costumes, as well as the old age of captain’s companions, make all characters very similar to each other and sometimes the Wild Captain disappears among others. However, becoming a mass is not a bad thing, considering the meaning of the story and the wave, which literally carries everyone towards the common goal. Jörgen Liik as the Wild Captain is part of his ship and part of his crew, he leads, but sometimes he is also led by others. If Accordion (played by Marika Vaarik) appears as a rat, Wild Captain should know why. But no – he lets Accordion justify their choices, in other words, he allows himself to be led.

This dynamic stage, similar to the sea wave, becomes so entertaining and loveable that it is almost weird to accept the quieter tones, monotony. The wave carries you away, makes you laugh and, in fact, fear for the actors who enliven the room with their whole bodies. But if the plank on the stage stops, it’s a whole different story. Major becomes minor, which mirrors the fears that accompany the captain even without the involvement of other people who either allow or forbid him to go to the sea. At this point, Wild Captain is alone and fragile – it makes him the character who is not part of the crew that flies on the waves. There is not even a common wave that would carry them. Now he must stand on his own two feet. Jörgen Liik enacts this loner very powerfully until the end. It feels like he is filling the whole stage. Whether it be fishing or a glance at the audience, it all bears a lot of weight.

But what is missing? The crew? The Wild Captain? Perhaps the crew did not understand what they wanted/want? Do we understand what we want? We, Estonians? Where to get this wind or rain that the Wild Captain’s companions were waiting for? In some ways, moving around on the ship created waves, at least those joyful waves that made you laugh and smile when you looked at the actors on the stage. Several actors created a decent wave which carried all of us. Both the actors and the audience. And finally, all that the Wild Captain needed was a wave that would unite his crew.

The Wild Captain says to the depressed crew members: “Did I bring you here? You as well as myself were brought here by our daily bread which in this evil world urges man much more effectively than any whip could ever do.” This sentence by Smuul seems true to this day. But it sounds a lot more brutal in the modern world. Because at first, the sea gives you freedom, but then it dictates its own rhythm, which you have to follow in order to survive or you’ll fade away. Even the tedious times, just like the stormy ones, has to be outlived together, on the common wave, it’s easier that way. But sometimes we are all looking for our personal wave and we abandon the captain who wanted to take us to Brazil.

Tiit Ojasoo managed to move me with the quest of that wave on which we become one. The Wild Captain was admirable when he engaged others because then he literally made waves. But he also engaged when he was alone, without his crew members, because he was still a captain.

As a lifelong fan of ballet, I was surprised to read the title of a performance that I had never heard of before: Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker … The Goblin? The September 14th performance at the Estonian National Opera was a pleasant surprise of entertainment and storytelling.

The Goblin (known locally as “Kratt”) by Eduard Tubin was the first truly Estonian ballet. The show premiered at the Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu in 1943 and was first performed at the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn on September 18, 2015. The themes of greed, class, temptation, and love absolutely translate to a modern, international audience.

What Is the Goblin?

This fairy tale creature appears in stories across many cultures (as recently as bankers in the series of Harry Potter films) but subtle differences may affect its interpretation from the audience. For this show, the concept is loosely defined. Detailed interviews printed the program in both Estonian and English helped to give context to an unfamiliar (to me) story.

– Marina Kesler, the choreographer and stage director, describes the Goblin as “an allegorical metaphor composed of several ideas.”
– Both Kesler and costume designer Gerly Tinn compare the character to the questionable contracts, Terms and Conditions (T&C), or credit cards that have become part of so many daily lives.
– Set designer Madis Nurms imagines the Goblin as “the consecration of our vices that has started to lead a life of its own.”
– Gerly Tinn also questions whether it may be “a divine sense of justice or karma that shows us that every action has a reaction.”
– Overall, the Goblin represents an inner voice, a symbol of unfair business practices, and of course “a clear-cut creature that can be seen on stage,” says Kesler.

The Characters

The Goblin plays a primary role, but the ensemble cast equally share the task of entertaining the audience with multiple storylines. Each title role is cast with a rotating roster of soloists. Who are the stars of this Estonian fairy tale?

The Master – The ballet largely centers around a greedy factory owner who spends the show looking to get rich quick, then gambling away his profits, and trying to keep his daughter away from the Farmhand, one of his employees. At the Sept 14th performance, Anatolil Arhangelski demonstrated the vast ambitions and oversized emotions of this character with each leap and extension of his long limbs.

The Devil – This charismatic symbol of temptation, dressed in red and black with a pale painted face, seems to gain more of the audience’s sympathies than the Master he tricks. At least the Devil plays by his own rules (even if they are designed to trick and manipulate). He carries himself with a necessary air of confidence, well played by Andrea Fabri. An entourage also dressed in red and black carry out the Devil’s plans on stage with powerful, seductive movements, flicking their wrists, curving their bodies, and lifting or lowering their chins as they flirt with the audience and the Master.

The Goblin – The title character, born of a dirty deal between the master and the Devil, is wonderfully dressed in androgynous costuming and uses quirky, jerky movements that erase the gender and emphasize the strangeness and magical nature of the creature, played by Patrick Scott Foster. The Goblin is made from three drops of blood and the soul of the Master, and regularly jumps onto characters’ backs – a fitting symbol for the feeling of carrying heavy levels of debt. The creature seems to play both a powerful and a subservient role in making sure the Master keeps getting more and more money out of his factory and workers.

The Farmhand / Servant / Peasant (depending on translation) – This character acts as a factory worker in this modern update. Jevgini Grib’s performance – a beautiful balance of gentleness and strength – shows the innocence, idealism, and rebellious spirit of youth. He serves as the show’s hero and moral compass, rejecting the greed and money that corrupts the Master to focus on finding secret moments to spend with his forbidden love, The Master’s Daughter.

The Daughter – Marita Weinrank melts gracefully into her lifts and transitions as the Daughter dancing with The Farmhand. She also adds subtle moments of slapstick comedy to the performance (e.g. dropping a bouquet of flowers when he kisses her on the cheek). According to Choreographer Marina Kesler, the love story of the Daughter and Farmland was not even a part of the first draft of the show, but their chemistry brings life to the show and gives this audience a bit of hope for some sort of happy ending.

The Estonian Moments

While fairy tales often tell universal stories, this ballet has a few elements that make the Estonian influence quite clear.

1. The second act begins with the show’s only song with words, as the stage is filled with both dancers and singers in long, flowered dresses under a backdrop of blue sky and white fluffy clouds. I didn’t understand the Estonian lyrics, meaning I may have missed an element of the story here, but it felt entirely appropriate to incorporate live voices on stage for a nation with a Singing Revolution in its history.

2. The song was followed by another essentially Estonian element – the sauna. Ten young men dressed in towels tied around their waists rolled a wooden bench onto the stage and circled around it, each holding a viht (a bundle of dried branches) used to gently beat themselves and playfully swat each other. This light-hearted break helped to soften the mood of exploring darker themes of greed and morality, and the dancers themselves clearly enjoyed performing it.

3. The costumes of the Farmhand and Daughter’s friends clearly took inspiration from traditional folk dresses. Costume Designer Gerly Tinn explained that “the national costume of Mulgimaa is very close to my heart.” Her colorfully striped skirts and bright red tights paid tribute to that aesthetic while still feeling modern enough for today’s performances. The tights were a particularly eye-catching detail, especially during lifts that ended with the women on their partner’s backs and their legs pointed into the air.

4. I did find myself questioning my own cultural interpretation when a fire broke out at the factory during the second act. For a few moments, I wondered whether the pale grey uniforms racing onto the stage were the factory’s workers or if they were firefighters coming to save the day – a detail that I may have been more familiar with if I had grown up with worker’s uniforms as a symbol of everyday life, or if I knew what color Estonian firefighters wore.

5. One repeated move made me curious if there were any other fans of the US television series Friends in the audience. The Master, Daughter, and Farmhand banged their fists and forearms together, from the wrists to the elbows, when they were fighting about whether or not they could be together. This same move was used in Friends between Monica and Ross, brother and sister, to express their anger without using obscene gestures in front of their parents. I had to giggle a little to myself every time it happened, and wondered if the connection was intentional or accidental.

Overall, this modern update of The Goblin was an entertaining 20th-century fairy tale told through contemporary ballet (plenty of lifts and leg extensions without a tutu in sight). The mechanical, multimedia elements and minimal set design gave it a modern vibe, and the talented cast of performers tackled the characters and choreography with energy and joy.

You can catch future performances on October 6, 2018, as well as dates in February, March, and May of 2019.

Directors and performers: Raho Aadla, Age Linkmann, Arolin Raudva, Maarja Tõnisson

Since the beginning of June, there have been rumors around town that Humdrumhum 2 is something very powerful. There is no clear answer to the question of what exactly happens there, everyone is just conjuring a blissful smile on their face and sighs: “You have to see it for yourself!” Fortunately, a couple of additional shows are announced in August.

The piece is played at the old Põhjala factory in Kopli. After going through the Soviet era gates and waiting in the stairwell with peeled paint on the walls, we enter a spacious room where a band plays in one corner and where objects which probably will be used in the play are scattered around. Soon, wonderful things will be happening in this worn out industrial building. I’m in Wonderland where nothing is what it looks like, and everything is possible. The kitchen table grows into a princess and releases the dark forces of the goblin-rag. The bubbling and crackling golden cloth becomes a huge tent, where the sparkling fly-eyed creatures contact us. Doors fall over and form a long table and blankets become the corridor walls. An innocent red curtain stretches out to become a menacing Wicked Queen and a little Alice is hatching from the quilted March Hare at the top of the dangerously shaky animal pyramid. And then we are guided through the Magical Forest (and suspiciously trembling scaffolds) back to the Post-Soviet era industrial landscapes, quilted animals and Alice waving goodbye for us joyfully.

One and a half hours in Wonderland have passed.

I am enchanted. Enthralling music, smart decorations, the troupe and the audience grow into one – it was a powerful energy injection. The most fascinating thing for me in the production was the fusion of four people into one organism – to sway and jump on a high-level suspension, or to spill over the horizontal row of doors/tables as a sighing and humming human ball. You have to see it for yourself!

Impressions from the premiere of Estonian Games. Tönk (graduate students of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and ensemble Trad.Attack! on the 10th of June in Tartu at the Raadi airplane hangar)

The surroundings of the Soviet era Raadi airplane hangar are teeming with cars, there is a queue in front of the entrance. I don’t buy a playbill on purpose. I’ve seen Peeter Jalakas’s plays before and suppose I understand. Estonian games is a very specific topic for Estonians. Only the question of who or what is tönk is bothering me a bit. I hope, maybe it turns out during the performance.

Hustling and bustling youngsters

A bunch of youngsters rushes on a stage where there are only a white cube and a long bench, playing some kind of game with cocks and chickens. I can’t help but wonder how physically fit are the graduates of the EAMT, their movements on the stage are quite complicated and with a great show of energy. Black and white video appear on the screen cube, in which elderly people in folk costumes are diligently playing some ancient folk games in front of the camera. When the film is over, the bustle goes on again – they are already erecting the tent-like objects of the industrial container bags, they are already putting on some eye-catching colourful costumes that remind a folk costume a bit. Simultaneously with the dressing and building, the playful activity is also developing feistily, the young people are storming back and forth on stage, there’s so much dynamic and exciting going on that it’s hard to keep track of everything (unfortunately, in the rear seats, there is also limited visibility). It feels like a hockey game: you are trying hard to follow the path of a puck, but while you stare at the left corner, there are already two goals scored at the right side. Missed it again!

From hockey to Star Wars. Cirque du Soleil!

The designs and costumes are eye-catching, they seem like something from Star Wars – shiny plastic clothes, furry macho-beasts, at the end of the show a tube firing laser beams appears on the stage. (Wow!) Space usage is also fantastic, almost everything (including the stage for the band) is in constant motion, a large part of the activity takes place on ropes under the ceiling and across the room. And there’s plenty of space! Acrobatics is poetic and engaging. It’s like our own local Cirque du Soleil, spiced with (depressive?) humour, ancient spells and counting rhymes, a little clumsy and very playful!

Forest and supernatural beings

The mood is additionally nuanced with black and white video at the back of the stage, which was filmed a couple of months ago, decided by the small buds on the trees in the forest. Of course, the forest, how could it be otherwise – forest is perhaps the most important source of identity for our people right now. The performance is full of clues to the ancient creation myths, the other side and supernatural which is characteristic to Peeter Jalakas. There is also no lack of humour aimed at the public figures (hmm, who is this old woman on the roller skates, a loaf of bread on the hands?) and poetry spiced with irony.

Music and movement on stage melt smoothly into one whole and create a whole new quality, although at times the bustle on the stage seems somewhat disturbing, drawing attention away from music. The band has been pushed to one side of the stage for the most time. Would this performance be such an experience even without the music of Trad.Attack!? Hardly so.

The show is over. The audience stands up and applauds fervently. I hurry to buy a playbill. Before that, I ask one foreigner what they think about the performance and how much did they understand. The answer is that there’s nothing to undertand, everything is obvious: the schoolchildren went to the forest for camping on the Midsummer Day, began to play games and used lots of drugs there.

At home, I read from the playbill booklet that tönk is an ancient monstrous being with tail and horns, usually made during big holidays. There is also an interesting reading about Johan Huizinga’s game theory and homo ludens, the stories of ancient people and the introduction of the team. The booklet could also include at least some descriptions of traditional games. A long summer is ahead, it would be nice to play a little.

My Fair Lady, one of the most popular musicals of all times, is performed at the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn. I can guarantee you will fall in love with a beautiful story of two completely different worlds meeting with a pinch of great romantic, comic and philosophical songs and hilarious dialogues. The main characters are Henry Higgins, a scholar of phonetics, Colonel Pickering, Higgins’s friend and fellow phoneticist, and Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower seller. The main plotline starts from a bet between ambitious Higgins, stating he can make a Cockney speak like a duchess and Pickering doubting that Higgins is successful.
Adorable but ill-mannered Eliza Doolittle is used to making a living selling violets. Her business is far from successful, but her persistent nature and a sharp tongue help her out. Living such a simple and hard life, she is dreaming of becoming a flower girl in a store. Therefore, when she meets a professor who can teach her true English and good manners needed for a dream work, she immediately jumps at the chance. The story of a poorly educated and naughty girl strikes with its simplicity and brevity. Even though the plot is not full of action, it is never too boring to watch Eliza Doolittle grow and change.
A strict teacher of Eliza Doolittle is Henry Higgins, a connoisseur of traditional English and good manners. The presence of his talent is undeniable, but a nasty and selfish character turns him into a real tyrant who is ready to spend days and nights teaching poor exhausted girl just to win his bet. The part of Henry Higgins is played brilliantly. The narcissistic bachelor, unable to get along with any women except for his housekeeper, is a perfect pair with Eliza, even if he does not want to admit it. Their joint scenes with Eliza are explosive and attention absorbing.
This is a musical, full of deep and touching emotions: feeling of freedom and happiness when dancing in the middle of the street, anger and disappointment, crazy love and complete understanding. The director and actors have done everything not to disappoint fans of the famous story. The costumes are gorgeous: every time the fashionable ladies and gentlemen are on the scene, spectators are impressed with all the colours and shapes of the costumes. There is no feeling you are at a theatrical performance but it feels like a real-time event.
Broadway writers Frederic Lowe and Alan Jay Lerner did a great job creating the musical scenes. The most memorable ones are Eliza’s “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” and Henry’s “I am an Ordinary Man…” skilfully translated into Estonian.
The last part of the play is the most impressive one — magnificent and touching ending, once again proving that everyone is made to love and be loved. Even when both a man and a woman are bad-tempered and rebellious, they can successfully change if they will be lucky enough to find each other.
What also should be mentioned is a perfect translation of the play into Estonian. There is no feeling that any of the jokes or dialogs are out of place as everything is successfully adapted to a language that is completely different and full of its own nuances.
Last but not least, good news for those who wish to explore a famous musical in Estonian interpretation but do not feel skilled enough to understand everything in Estonian: the main hall of the Estonian National Opera provides English subtitles that are easy to follow.

Culture.ee’s virtual culture guide.

JANUARY
1.–7.01., Tartu 5TH TARTU WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL
1.–7.01., Tallinn 7TH TALLINN BACH MUSIC FESTIVAL „BACHFEST“
5.–11.01., Tallinn KORFEST 2018
19.–20.01., Jõgeva 13TH POETRY DAYS „CHILDREN OF THE WIND“ DEDICATED TO BETTI ALVER
20.01., Tallinn INTSIKURMU WINTER FESTIVAL
24.–26.01., Pärnu DRAAMA 2018 SMALL THEATRE FESTIVAL FOR CRITICS
26.01.–4.02., Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Jõhvi MUSTONENFEST
26.01.–14.10., all over Estonia FESTIVAL „SCHOOL DANCE“
31.01.–4.02., Tallinn DOCPOINT TALLINN

FEBRUARY
2.–4.02., Tallinn 5TH JEW’S HARP FESTIVAL
3.–4.02., Tallinn SIMPLE SESSION 18
3.–4.02., Laulasmaa 16TH YOUTH THEATRE FESTIVAL TEENIFEST
5.–10.02., Rakvere RAKVERE GYMNASIUM’S FILM FESTIVAL
5.–13.02., Tallinn 11TH TALLINN WINTER FESTIVAL
9.02., Tallinn ACOUSSION FESTIVAL
10.02., Valga 18TH INTERNATIONAL PIANO ENSEMBLES FESTIVAL
10.–11.02., Tartu 18TH FESTIVAL OF YOUNG CELLISTS
10.–22.02., Tallinn FESTIVAL „ESTONIAN THEATRE IN THE ESTONIAN NATIONAL OPERA“
12.–16.02., Tallinn FESTIVAL „VIRMALISED“
16.–17.02., Kuressaare 4TH NATIONAL A. RAUDKATS DANCE COMPETITION
16.–18.02., Viljandi 16TH STUDENT THEATRE DAYS
23.02., Tallinn INDOOR MUSIC FESTIVAL „MADE IN ESTONIA“
23.02., Tallinn WINTER GRIND

MARCH
4.–31.03., all over Estonia THE MONTH OF FRANCOPHONIE
9.03., Tallinn MARCH 9 PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL „SERIOUSLY ABOUT HUMOUR“
9.–10.03., Jõgeva 22ND MUSIC DAYS DEDICATED TO ALO MATTIISEN
9.–10.03., Tallinn ARS FILM FESTIVAL AFF 2018
10.03., Tallinn 11TH PERFORMING ARTS SHORT FORMS FESTIVAL MADE IN ESTONIA MARATHON
10.03., Valga ESTONIAN MUSIC VIDEO FESTIVAL
15.–18.03., Tallinn EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL „CECILIANA“
19.–25.03., Tartu 15TH WORLD FILM FESTIVAL
22.–24.03., Tallinn TALLINN FASHION WEEK
23.–25.03., Kuressaare NATIONAL SCHOOL THEATRE FESTIVAL „SAAREMAA MINI THEATRE DAYS“
24.03., Tartu SOUND AND DUSK FESTIVAL „NIGHT OF THE ESTONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM“

APRIL
April, Tartu FESTIVAL „VUNK“
2.–8.04., Tallinn TALLINN MUSIC WEEK 2018
9.–29.04., across Estonia GERMAN SPRING 2018 – FOCUS ON HAMBURG
12.–13.04., Tartu STUDENTS SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2018
12.–19.04., Tallinn, Tartu ESTONIAN MUSIC DAYS 2018 „SACRED“
12.–22.04., Tallinn TALLINN OLD TOWN FOOD FESTIVAL
17.–24.04., Viljandi JAZZ FESTIVAL VILJANDI JAZZKAAREKE
19.04., Lehtse MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR SMALL SCHOOLS „MUSIC INSIDE AND AROUND US“
20.–23.04., Tartu, Tallinn POLISH AND ESTONIAN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL „WARSAW SPRING“
20.–29.04., all over Estonia JAZZKAAR
21.–28.04., Tallinn XI HARPSICHORD FESTIVAL
23.–29.04., Viljandi DANCE WEEK
26.–29.04., Tartu 17TH SUPILINN DAYS
27.–28.04., Tallinn TALLINN COFFEE FESTIVAL
27.–29.04., Haapsalu 13TH HAAPSALU HORROR AND FANTASY FILM FESTIVAL (HÕFF)
27.–29.04., Tallinn TALLINN LARP FESTIVAL
27.–30.04., Tallinn TRADITIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL „SABATANTS“
27.04.–5.05., Jõhvi 11TH JÕHVI BALLET FESTIVAL
28.04., all over Estonia ESTONIAN OPEN FISHING PORT DAY 2018
28.04.–5.05., Tartu TARTU STUDENT DAYS: SPRING

MAY
2.–5.05., Tartu AUTHOR’S SONG FESTIVAL „MAILAUL“
2.–6.05., Viljandi VILJANDI COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL „WILKOM“
5.–6.05., Pärnu PROVINCIAL THEATRE DAYS
7.–12.05., Tartu, Jõhvi INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE FESTIVAL „PRIMA VISTA“
11.–12.05., Mooste ESTONIAN FOLK MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS FESTIVAL
12.05., Lao 8TH RÄIMEWEST HERRING FESTIVAL
12.–13.05., Kihlepa DANDELION FESTIVAL
17.–19.05., Tartu ULMEFESTIVAL
17.–19.05., Tartu FREEDOM FESTIVAL
19.05., all over Estonia NIGHT OF MUSEUMS: PARTY IN THE NIGHT
19.05., Koigi WEED FESTIVAL
23.–27.05., Tallinn TALLINN LITERATURE FESTIVAL „HEADREAD“
25.05., all over Estonia INTERNATIONAL NIGHT OF CHURCHES
26.05., Abja-Paluoja 5TH MULGI PARTY
26.05., Orjaku WINDFISH FESTIVAL
26.–27.05., Kuressaare KURESSAARE STREET FESTIVAL
30.05.–3.06., Tallinn 37TH TALLINN OLD TOWN DAYS

JUNE
June, Pärnu, all over Estonia and Europe DIVERSE UNIVERSE PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL
June–September, Naissaar, all over Estonia NARGENFESTIVAL
1.–2.06., Viljandi VILJANDI HANSEATIC DAYS
1.–3.06., Türi 12TH TÜRI SPRING FESTIVAL
2.06., Haapsalu HAAPSALU ITALIAN MUSIC FESTIVAL
2.06., Häädemeeste NORTH LIVONIAN FESTIVAL
2.06., Võru 5TH VÕRO-LANGUAGE SONG AND FOLK FESTIVAL UMA PIDO
2.06., Kohila KAPAROCK 2018
2.06.–1.07., Haapsalu HAAPSALU GRAPHIC DESIGN FESTIVAL
4.–10.06., Tartu ESTONIAN FASHION FESTIVAL
6.–12.06., Tallinn 5TH GUSTAV ADOLF ORGAN FESTIVAL
7.–9.06., Saue, Tallinn 16TH INTERNATIONAL YOUTH RHYTHM MUSIC FESTIVAL „VISIOON“
7.–17.06., Tallinn, Tartu, Narva FESTIVAL „TADAA!“
8.–10.06., Haapsalu INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS FESTIVAL „HOOG 2018“
8.–10.06., Uuri BUSHCRAFT FESTIVAL ESTLAND 2018
8.–10.06., Luige FESTIVAL „SWAN’S BEAK“
9.06., Virtsu ART FESTIVAL „TOORTUUMIK“
9.–10.06., Haapsalu NARGENFESTIVAL’S KREEK DAYS
9.–15.06., all over Estonia TALLINN GUITAR FESTIVAL 2018
10.06., Tallinn THE VERY SHORT MOVIES FESTIVAL 2018
11.–17.06., all over Estonia STREET ART FESTIVAL „STENCIBILITY“
13.–15.06., Saue 21ST DAYS OF CREATION AND IMPROVISATION
13.–16.06., Tartu NATURE FESTIVAL
14.–17.06., Hiiumaa SÕRU JAZZ
16.–17.06., Vastseliina XXIV COUNTRY FOLK FAIR
16.–17.06., Tartu TARTU STREET FOOD FESTIVAL
16.–23.06., Põhja-Sakala Parish 21TH SUURE-JAANI MUSIC FESTIVAL
20.–22.06., Kihnu Island KIHNU KNITTING FESTIVAL
22.–24.06., Tartu 18TH INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SONG AND DANCE FESTIVAL „GAUDEAMUS“
25.06.–08.07., Pärnu, all over Estonia 32ND PÄRNU FILM FESTIVAL
26.–30.06., Peipsimaa V PEIPSIMAA ORGAN FESTIVAL
27.–30.06., Haapsalu HAAPSALU TCHAIKOVSKY FESTIVAL
29.06., Tartu TARTU CITY DAY
29.06., Tartu GYPSY FESTIVAL „ROMANÕ TŠERGEN“
29.–30.06., Vana-Vigala HARD ROCK CAMP
29.–30.06., Värska SETO FOLK
29.–30.06., Kaiavere FESTIVAL „PUNK’N ROLL“
29.–30.06., Pühajärve village RETROBEST FESTIVAL 2018
29.06.–15.07., Ida-Viru County 20TH „THE MUSIC OF SEVEN CITIES“ FESTIVAL
29.06.–5.08., Kabli KABLI SUNSET FESTIVAL
30.06.–1.07., Narva 3RD NARVA MEDIEVAL FESTIVAL
30.06.–7.07., Peipsimaa 3RD LAKE PEIPUS FESTIVAL

JULY
July, Jõhvi INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL „SLAVIC LIGHT“
July–August, Pärnu, Riga PÄRNU PRINTMAKING IN FESTIVAL „HEAVENS UNDERGROUND“
4.–6.07., Tallinn ÕLLESUMMER FESTIVAL
4.–7.07., Rakvere INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTS „BALTOSCANDAL“
4.–7.07., Tallinn 8TH HORTUS MUSICUS SUMMER FESTIVAL „IN HORTO REGIS“
4.–8.07., Haapsalu 25TH HAAPSALU EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL
4.–8.07., Sänna FINNO-UGRIC FILM FESTIVAL
4.–8.07., Saaremaa FESTIVAL „THE SONOROUS SOUNDS OF THE ORGANS OF SAAREMAA“
5.–7.07., Pärnu PÄRNU OPERA DAYS
5.–8.07., Muhu Island, Kuressaare, Tartu, Tallinn 22ND MUHU FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL „JUU JÄÄB“
5.–8.07., Tallinn 19TH MEDIEVAL DAYS
5.–8.07., Võru 24TH VÕRU FOLKLORE FESTIVAL
5.–8.07., Äksi SAADJÄRV FESTIVAL 2018
5.–9.07., Pärnu PÄRNU HARMONICA FESTIVAL AND COMPETITION „BALTIC-NORDIC OPEN“
6.–7.07., Kohtla-Nõmme FESTIVAL „THE MOUNTAIN SOUND“
6.–7.07., Pärnu BEACH FESTIVAL „BEACH GRIND“
6.–7.07., Toomasmäe SETO MIDSUMMER EVE BONFIRE
6.–8.07., Kihelkonna 23RD KIHELKONNA CHURCH MUSIC DAYS
6.–8.07., Kihnu Island KIHNU SEA FESTIVAL
6.–8.07., Kikkaoja ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL „KÕU“
7.07., Laiksaare VÕNGE 2018. THE TRAVELLING MUSIC FESTIVAL
7.07., Valga VALGA COUNTY FESTIVAL OF TRADITIONAL CULTURE „SÄDE GARDEN PARTY“
7.07., Lindi village COASTAL VILLAGE FESTIVAL „FEAST OF OUR VILLAGE“
7.–8.07., Tartu TARTU HANSEATIC DAYS
7.–8.07., Tallinn 1ST ESTONIAN PIANO FESTIVAL „CAPTIVATED BY THE PIANO“
8.–14.07., Viljandi NOTAFE 2018
9.–14.07., Põlva County STREET ART FESTIVAL „RURAL URBAN ART: PÕLVAMAA“
10.–15.07., Viljandi VILJANDI VANAMUUSIKA FESTIVAL
10.07.–13.08., Tallinn ALION BALTIC FESTIVAL
11.07.–8.08., Pärnu SUMMER ARIA. SYNTHESIS OF THE ARTS 2018
12.–15.07., Orissaare I LAND SOUND 2018
12.–17.07., Tartu FESTIVAL „GLASPERLENSPIEL“
13.–14.07., Kanepi FESTIVAL „BEER CAMP & ROCK’N’ROLL“
13.–15.07., Haapsalu AMERICAN BEAUTY CAR SHOW
13.–15.07., Kilingi-Nõmme KILINGI-NÕMME TOWN DAYS
13.–15.07., Tallinn TALLINN MARITIME DAYS
13.–15.07., Pärnu 6TH PÄRNU INTERNATIONAL SAXOPHONE MUSIC FESTIVAL „SAX.FEST ’18“
14.07., Venevere PANDIVERE MUSIC FESTIVAL SUMMER RAGER 2018
14.–15.07., Hiiumaa HIIUMAA CHAMBER MUSIC DAYS
14.–15.07., Roosiku HEART MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018
18.–21.07., Narva BALTIC SUN 2018
19.–22.07., Hiiumaa 14TH HIIUMAA FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL „HIIU FOLK 2018“
19.–22.07., Valgeranna SURF CAMP 20
19.–28.07., Kuressaare SAAREMAA OPERA DAYS
21.07., Haapsalu FESTIVAL „ROCK IN HAAPSALU“
21.07., Hingu MOTONOSTALGIA 2018
21.07., Põltsamaa PÕLTSAMAA CASTLE DAY
21.07., Pärnu ESTONIAN VILLAGE MUSICIANS’ REUNION
21.07., Pärnu HAPPY CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
26.–29.07., Viljandi 26TH VILJANDI FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL
26.–31.07., Hiiumaa, Tallinn 13TH HIIUMAA HOMECOMING FESTIVAL
26.07.–5.08. Rapla County 26TH RAPLA CHURCH MUSIC FESTIVAL
27.–28.07., Tartu MUSIC FESTIVAL „PUNK & ROCK 2018“
27.–28.07., Võsu VÕSU BEACH FESTIVAL „POWER ON THE BEACH 2018“
27.–29.07., Vormsi Island ST. OLAF’S DAY
27.–30.07., Pärnu PORCELAIN DAYS
27.07.–5.08., Tallinn EUROPA CANTAT XX TALLINN 2018
28.07., Valga 10TH INTERNATIONAL VALGA MILITARY HISTORY FESTIVAL
28.07., Narva-Jõesuu EAST BEACH FEST 2018
28.–29.07., Haapsalu YOGA FESTIVAL
28.–29.07., Võru VÕRU CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL „EARTH RINGS OF JOY“
28.07.–12.08., Tallinn 32ND TALLINN INTERNATIONAL ORGAN FESTIVAL
29.07., Tallinn LASNAMÄE PIE FESTIVAL
30.07.–5.08., Hiiumaa HIIUMAA DANCE FESTIVAL
31.07.–4.08., Kuressaare 24TH KURESSAARE CHAMBER MUSIC DAYS
the end of July or the beginning of August, Vormsi Island VORMSI SURFING DAYS

AUGUST
2.–5.08., Haapsalu AUGUST BLUES
3.–4.08., Põlva INTSIKURMU FESTIVAL
3.–4.08., Palupera LEIGO LAKE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018
3.–4.08., Rõngu ESTONIAN HIPHOP FESTIVAL
3.–5.08., Narva-Jõesuu FESTIVAL „GROW AND DECAY“
3.–5.08., Eivere, Paide 6TH EIVERE PIANO FESTIVAL
3.–5.08., Suuremõisa PÜHALEPA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018
3.–5.08., Tartu TARTU FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
3.–5.08., Tartu TARTU SUMMER SWING
5.–11.08., Pärnu PÄRNU MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018
7.–12.08., Lihula 8TH LIHULA FLOWER EMBROIDERY FESTIVAL
7.–12.08., Mustvee VM FEST MUSTVEE INTERNATIONAL SACRED MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018
8.–12.08., Uhti 2ND POTTER’S WHEEL FESTIVAL KEDRAFEST 2018
9.–11.08., Kuressaare KURESSAARE MARITIME DAYS
9.–12.08., Haanjamaa SMOKE SAUNA WEEK IN HAANJA
9.–18.08., Tallinn BIRGITTA FESTIVAL
10.08., Elva ELVA FESTIVAL OF EXPERIENCES
10.–11.08., Paide OPINION FESTIVAL
10.–11.08., Pärnu 21TH PÄRNU GUILD DAYS
10.–11.08., Puhja ROCK@ULILA 2018
10.–12.08., Käsmu VIRU FOLK
10.–12.08., Tartu 13TH INTERNATIONAL WIND BAND FESTIVAL „MÜRTSUB PILL“
10.–12.08., Tartu RIVER EMAJÕGI FESTIVAL
10.–12.08., Tõstamaa TÕSTAMAA DAYS
10.–12.08., Narva HISTORY FESTIVAL „NARVA BATTLE 2018“
11.08., Pärnu PÄRNU FIDEOFEST
11.08., Pärnu NATIONAL MINORITIES’ SUMMER FESTIVAL „MULTICULTURAL PÄRNU“
11.08., Kose FESTIVAL OF MILD MUSIC 2018
12.08., Haapsalu CHILDREN’S CULTURE FESTIVAL „CHILDHOOD MAGIC“
12.08., Anija MANOR CULTURE FESTIVAL
13.–18.08., Tartu TARTU LOVE FILM FESTIVAL TARTUFF
15.–19.08., Lüganuse parish RIVER FESTIVAL „PURFEST“
15.–19.08., all over Estonia C-JAM CELLOFEST 2018
15.–20.08., Võru town and Võru County E. TAMM VÕRU WIND INSTRUMENT FESTIVAL
16.–18.08., Pärnu WEEKEND FESTIVAL BALTIC
17.08., Rakvere ESTONIA’S FIRST POETRY FESTIVAL
17.–18.08., Rapla 3RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR DANCE FESTIVAL „NEIGHBOUR, COME TO DANCE!“
17.–18.08., Võru VÕRU TOWN DAYS
17.–18.08., Univere village URISSAARE KANTRI 2018
17.–19.08., Pala SKENERAATOR FESTIVAL 2018
17.–19.08., Ruhnu island RUHNURAHU FESTIVAL
17.–19.08., Põlva County ECOFESTIVAL
18.08., Alatskivi LITERARY FESTIVAL „ESTONIAN READER“ 2018
18.08., Haapsalu STREET FOOD FESTIVAL „PROMENADE OF FLAVOURS“
18.08., Järva-Jaani FILM ROLL FESTIVAL
18.08., Varnja VARNJA SAUNAFEST
19.–20.08., Valga FESTIVAL „STARS OF AUGUST IN VALGA“ 2018
19.–31.08., Tallinn 14TH TALLINN CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
20.08., Tahkuranna village TAHKURANNA CUCUMBER FESTIVAL
23.–26.08., Tallinn FESTIVAL „TOWERS OF TALLINN“
24.08., Laulasmaa 7TH ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S DAY’S GEMS
24.–26.08., Haapsalu WHITE LADY FESTIVAL
25.08., Tallinn TELLISKIVI FLEA MARKET FESTIVAL
25.08., Tallinn CULTURE NIGHT
25.–26.08., Peraküla NÕVA FLOUNDER FESTIVAL
25.–26.08., Tudulinna END OF SUMMER FESTIVAL „TUDULINNA LIGHTS“
31.08.–1.09., Tartu FESTIVAL IN APARAADITEHAS

SEPTEMBER
1.–2.09., Tallinn UUS MAAILM DISTRICT STREET FESTIVAL 2018
1.–9.09., Narva NARVA OPERA DAYS „CONTEMPART“ 2018
3.–9.09., Tartu ESTONIAN THEATRE FESTIVAL „DRAAMA“
3.–9.09., Saaremaa SAAREMAA FOOD FESTIVAL
7.–9.09., Haapsalu NOSTALGIA DAYS
8.09., Tallinn LITERARY STREET FESTIVAL
8.09., Otepää CHANTERELLE FESTIVAL 2018
10.–16.09., Tallinn 13TH TALLINN DESIGN FESTIVAL
14.09., Tallinn FESTIVAL OF STRANGE FILMS
14.–15.09., Rapla CULTURE FESTIVAL „SÄRIN“ („SIZZLE“)
14.–15.09., Tihemetsa MUSHROOM FESTIVAL
17.–23.09., Hiiumaa HIIUMAA FOOD AND ART FESTIVAL
19.–21.09., Tallinn WALKING LIGHTS FESTIVAL 2018
19.–23.09., Lihula, Haapsalu 16TH MATSALU NATURE FILM FESTIVAL (MAFF)
19.–23.09., Rakvere KAMALAMMAS FOOD FESTIVAL
20.–22.09., Tallinn SOUND PLASMA FESTIVAL FOR MICROTONAL MUSIC
20.–22.09., Tallinn 6TH INTERNATIONAL IMPROV FESTIVAL TILT
21.–22.09., Tallinn ECOMESS 2018
21.–23.09., Narva STATION NARVA 2018
22.–23.09., Tartu JAPANESE POPCULTURE FESTIVAL „ANIMATSURI 2018“
24.–30.09., Tartu TARTU STUDENT DAYS: AUTUMN
27.–29.09., all over Estonia RESEARCHERS’ NIGHT FESTIVAL
28.–30.09., Kihnu Island KIHNU VIOLIN FESTIVAL
29.09., Tallinn APPLE FESTIVAL

OCTOBER
4.–10.10., Tallinn TALLINN FASHION FILM FESTIVAL „MOEKUNSTIKINO“
5.–6.10., Viljandi FOLK MUSIC HARVEST FESTIVAL
5.–7.10., Tartu INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR’S SONG FESTIVAL „MUSIC OF THE FALLING LEAF“
5.–12.10., Tallinn 11TH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL KLAVER 2018
6.10., Nõo FESTIVAL OF LIGHT
8.–28.10., all over Estonia FILM FESTIVAL „CINEMA TO THE COUNTRY“
9.–12.10., Tallinn TALLINN COMEDY FESTIVAL
9.–14.10., Viljandi VILJANDI GUITAR FESTIVAL
9.–17.10., Tallinn, Viljandi, Sillamäe, Narva GOLDEN MASK IN ESTONIA
10.–28.10., all over Estonia PAN-FINNO-UGRIAN DAYS
11.–13.10., Tartu TRADITIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL „SABATANTS“
11.–14.10., Tartu 7TH INTERNATIONAL A-FESTIVAL
11.–14.10., Tõrva TÕRVA DOKFEST
12.–14.10., Tartu 23RD INTERNATIONAL EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL „ORIENT ET OCCIDENT“
13.–28.10., all over Estonia CHILDREN AND YOUTH MUSEUM FESTIVAL „OPEN PLAYGROUNDS“
17.–20.10., Tallinn TALLINN FASHION WEEK
19.–24.10., Tallinn AUTUMNFEST
20.–28.10., Tallinn VII NU PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL
25.–27.10., Tallinn TALLINN FOODFEST
25.–28.10., Tallinn FESTIVAL „ÜLE HELI“
25.–28.10., Tartu ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING AND LIGHT FESTIVAL TAVA 2018
27.10.–2.11., Tartu, Tallinn 17TH INTERNATIONAL MODERN MUSIC FESTIVAL „AFEKT“
31.10.–2.11., Tallinn INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL „NAKS“

NOVEMBER
November–December, all over Estonia CHRISTMAS JAZZ
5.–8.11., Tartu MEDICAL FILMS FESTIVAL MEFF 2018
5.–11.11., Viimsi VIIMSI HAPPY JAZZ FESTIVAL
6.–28.11., Tallinn SKULPAKUU
8.–9.11., Tartu FESTIVAL „CRAZY TARTU“
8.–10.11., Tallinn 22ND ST MARTIN’S DAY FAIR
9.–11.11., Tartu 3RD TARTU YOUTH FOLKLORE FESTIVAL
9.–12.11., Tartu, Narva 8TH TARTU INTERNATIONAL JAZZ AND RHYTHM MUSIC FESTIVAL „IDEEJAZZ“
12.–17.11., Ida-Viru County NORDIC CULTURE WEEK 2018
16.–25.11., Tallinn, Tartu CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL „JUST FILM“
16.11.–2.12., Tallinn, Tartu TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
23.11.–1.12., Väike-Maarja 10TH VÄIKE-MAARJA MUSIC FESTIVAL
24.11.–2.12., Tallinn, Tartu EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL „TALLINN FEAT. REVAL“

DECEMBER
2.12.2018–7.01.2019, all over Estonia CHRISTMAS MUSIC FESTIVAL „CHURCH HOLIDAYS IN ST MARY’S LAND“
2.12.2018–10.01.2019, Tartu CHRISTMAS CITY TARTU
7.–9.12., Rakvere FESTIVAL „DARKLAND FIRE 9“
9.–15.12., Tallinn THEATRE FESTIVAL „MIDWINTER NIGHT’S DREAM“

Read more about upcoming festivals in Estonia in 2018!

The holiday season is approaching fast and that means the culture.ee’s this week’s recommendations are quite christmassy. There are theatre, runic songs, fair atmosphere, Valga, Rapla, tennis hall and observatory, wintery folk dance, a play of the ice flowers, a bunch of literary stuff from the library and warm wishes from Pokumaa. May your week be filled with joy and pleasant experiences!
Time of warm wishes in Pokuland
8 Dec – 17 Dec
Pokuland (Pokumaa)
In December, when there’s Christmas rush everywhere, it’s peaceful and forest-scented time of warm wishes in Pokumaa, just like the Poku calendar says. What would be a Christmas world without sweet activities and cozy moments or without a lovely show for the whole family? This way, Pokumaa will help you enter the beautiful and peaceful Christmas time, where warm wishes are found and delivered on time.
Rapla Christmas World
10 Dec – 21 Dec
Culture Club BAAS
Rapla Christmas World takes visitors to a traditional and cozy world full of the smell of a Christmas tree, magic and Christmas feeling!
Book week of the Christmas month
12 Dec – 16 Dec
National Library of Estonia
Come and choose a great book to spend time with during the dark time or refresh your spirit at the literary events! Here you will find a lot of valuable gifts to fill the Santa’s bag.
Improtest: Ted Parker
13 Dec
Kanuti Gildi SAAL
„Improtest” is a concert series that brings improvisational music from local and foreign authors to a local audience. This time, the performer is Theodore Parker – a musician exploring the use of guitar, electronics, and acoustics in improvised music creation.
Runic Song Room „Jõuaks, jõuaks jõulud tulla”
14 Dec
Valga Museum
Songs about the enjoyment of singing, the beginning of the works of the winter season, holidays, advent time, celebrating Christmas and saying goodbye to Christmas.
Christmas mood concert by Kristina Vähi and Riina Pikani
15 Dec
Tartu Observatory in Tõravere
On December 15, 2017, at 3 p.m., the Christmas mood concert will be held at Tartu Observatory in Tõravere. A soulful soprano Kristina Vähi and dynamic and expressive pianist Riina Pikani will perform. The classical music gems by Schumann, Tubin, Ojakäär and other composers will be presented.
5th Kolga Christmas fair
15 Dec – 17 Dec
Kolga Tennis Hall
The three-day Kolga Christmas fair will be held for the fifth time. The fair offers dance, theatre, music and enjoyment for both adults and children.
Wintry Tartu Folk Dance Day 2017
16 Dec
Tartu Town Hall Square
Dancers from Tartu and Tartu County perform Estonian folk dances and simple group dances on Town Hall Square of Tartu. Indrek Kalda, a violinist, will add to the magic and a folk dance specialist, a teacher and lecturer Vaike Rajaste will tie the event together. The whole celebration is directed by Kati Grauberg-Longhurst. Come and see and perhaps even participate in some of the most loved Estonian folk dances!
Hand-printed Christmas cards – cut once, print a hundred times!
16 Dec
Kumu Art Museum
Come and make your own Christmas cards at Kumu Education Centre under the guidance of Kaija Kesa! Card printing is suitable for both adults and schoolchildren and provides a good experience in graphics and the ancient art of print.
Christmas concert „The Play of an Ice Flower”
17 Dec
Rakvere Holy Trinity Church
Concert of Chamber Choir Solare and Choir Studio So-La-Re. The choirs are conducted by Elo Üleoja, Ly Hiire and Keio Soomelt. Piano accompaniment by Piret Villem.

Cotard delusion is a mental disorder in which the affected person is convinced that they are dead, that they do not exist or that they have no limbs or internal organs. Simply put, it can be described as a shortage between the parts of the brain that allow us to recognize faces, to distinguish ourselves from the outside world, and to create associations between emotions and familiar faces. So it may happen that while looking at the mirror, the visible face and the Self are not associated, the consciousness exists, but it has nothing to do with the person looking back from the mirror. Such a loss of the sense of Self leads to a paradoxical dangling between being dead and being immortal, mere consciousness without a body.
The French neurologist Jules Cotard, after whom the syndrome got it’s name, had a patient whom he called Mademoiselle X in his notes. The patient claimed to have no brain, no nerves, no chest, no stomach and no intestines. Talking about paradoxes – at the same time, she also considered herself to be eternal and immortal. Due to her missing intestines, she found no meaning in eating and therefore died of starvation. The illusion of immortality and thus starving is considered one of the most common causes of death in case of the people suffering from Cotard syndrome. That same Mademoiselle X is the source of inspiration for Maria Metsalu’s production’s central character, the semi-fictional Mademoiselle X, whose automated actions can be seen at Kanuti Gildi SAAL a few more times.
And there’s quite a lot to see. Scene after scene, again and again, repeating images, automated activities are opening up in front of the audience. It’s interesting how the artist doses everything. For how long one has to stay in the pool, to crawl, to lie on the floor to produce an effective excess … how many times one has to repeat everything to create this weird, rhythmic fluid, almost inanimate state?
Interestingly enough, Mademoiselle X’s room, the atmosphere, the intense presence of technological lifelessness, the sound design that ranges from wild to melancholic, and consistent mechanicality are capable of creating a certain feeling of observing some uncanny state of mind or even the feeling of entering into such a state of mind, so that it’s possible to see everything from the perspective of a consciousness of the half-dead. Entering into such a state is aided by the fact that the audience is not allowed to go and sit on the soft chairs during the first half of the show but they are directed to the edge of the stage, where everything is within the reach, but at the same time it’s quite uncomfortable. However, it must be admitted that this discomfort is worth it, because the last 20 minutes of the performance, which can be enjoyed already on the chair, are very effective because of the above. Looking at the stage from a further perspective now creates a peculiar feeling of distancing, a shift. Exiting from the consciousness of Mademoiselle X.
Concept and performance: Maria Metsalu
Stage: Nikola Knežević, carpet together with Merike Estna
Sound: Rodrigo Sobarzo de Larraechea
Drawings: Annina Machaz
Technical solutions: SPARK Makerlab
 

„The End of the Chain” is Priit Pääsuke’s film based on Paavo Piik’s 2012 play and for me, it was maybe the most anticipated Estonian film this year. This is a tragicomical and even existential film, which takes place in the fast-food chain called Kett (Chain) and focuses on the colourful life of customers through the eyes of the customer servant. The film is divided into several chapters, sometimes even theatrical sketches, which form a consistent sequence.
The film consists a dialogue on Estonian films, where Estonian film is described like „well, it was some kind of Estonian movie, didn’t understand much of it”, but „The End of the Chain” breaks out of this pattern. The main similarities to the stereotypical Estonian film were the beautiful visual side and camera work. The music was well suited to the spirit of the film, and some of the songs I would like to listen again. At the same time, there were no bad nor embarrassing jokes – the humour was inventive.
The film starts with a poet’s performance, where the poet reads Kaur Riismaa’s poem about arriving. For me, this is one of the most beautiful poems and it fits perfectly to „The End of the Chain”. It’s like the key to open the movie – arriving. Kett really has its own atmosphere and it really reaches the audience. „The End of the Chain” consisted of different patterns, symphonies – the latter is also well characterizing the end of the film. The administration of ecstasy has also been put into a casual form – using ecstasy to remind yourself what do you want to be like: mindful and self-satisfied. It is equally true that taking ecstasy (with extended pupils) within such a concept and in such an honest way is quite a courageous move.
It can be said that the choice of actors was also daring. It is undoubtedly risky to put the creme de la creme of the new generation of Estonian comedy scene into a single film: Mattias Naan, Priit Pius, Henrik Kalmet and iconic duo Katariina Tamm and Piret Krumm. It played out surprisingly well and everyone was well suited for their roles. Maiken Schmidt played the role of the service provider very well, and Hendrik Toompere jr delivered nicely the role of a bit confused young man who was burdened with his high school education.
At times, „The End of the Chain” was somewhat inconsistent and the end culminated quite abruptly, but it was compensated by the artistic level, humour, and engaging dialogues. The movie suits well to the current season with its nice melancholic touch. In order to better understand the relationships between the play and the movie and to delve into the details, it is worth watching the film several times, this is something that I am planning to do as well. In addition – where else can one see the customer servants of the fast food restaurant (or people who claim to be one) doing ecstasy with Arvo Pärt?