Estonian Contemporary Dramaturgy: A Shift From Literature to Theatre

Anneli Saro

Drama has been the backbone of Estonian theatre, forming 40–50% of the repertoire of spoken theatre since the early twenty-first century. Whereas in the 1990s theatres relied more on classical texts, today new drama dominates the repertoire. Since the publishing of plays has significantly declined, the main mediator of new drama is the theatre. Under the term ‘drama’ one can find plays, prose dramatisations, rewritings of earlier works, documentary texts, devised theatre dramaturgy, scripts for dance and music productions and performances, etc. Two parallel processes have thus taken place: the notions of drama and dramaturgy have extended to cover the entire field of the performing arts, and the processes of writing and directing have merged. The latter means that a text is not necessarily finished before rehearsals begin; dramaturgs often attend rehearsals and are sometimes also responsible for non-textual elements of a production. Sometimes playwrights stage their own texts and vice versa; directors are the dramaturgs of their own productions. For example, there are approximately 30 playwright-dramaturgs and 30 dramaturg-directors in the Estonian Directors and Dramaturgs Union (Campbell 2024).

Where do playwrights come from?

Traditionally, some writers also try their hand at playwriting. For example, the most popular author of the last 30 years, Andrus Kivirähk (1970), has made his career as journalist, prosaist and dramatist. His success is based on extravagant comedies and reconstructions of historical events and personalities, as well as ironic representations of national symbols and values. Working with a rather loose dramaturgical form, he often combines the conventions of realist drama and fairy tales. Kivirähk’s works are sometimes considered too localised and strange for audiences abroad.

Today, however, it is much more common that playwrights come from the field of theatre, having trained as actors or directors and possessing some stage experience that also provides them with the technical skills for playwriting. For example Martin Algus (1973) trained as an actor but swapped that career for one as a freelance writer. Ott Kilusk (1975) worked in theatre as a stage master for 15 years before starting to write plays and became dramaturg of Pärnu theatre Endla.  Urmas Lennuk (1971) trained as a director but has been working in Rakvere Theatre as dramaturg and director, writing plays for himself and others. Urmas Vadi (1977) studied radio directing and works as a radio journalist, but is also a well-known prosaist and dramatist, who mostly stages his plays himself. As the above suggests, the most successful playwrights in Estonia are men born in the 1970s.

One can also study playwriting in Estonia – at either the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy or the Drakadeemia (2008–2024) school of creative writing. The head of Drakadeemia, Siret Campbell (1982), studied dramaturgy and directing at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, and is a respected playwright and mentor.

Additionally, the playwriting contests organised every second year by the Estonian Theatre Agency have brought forth some new talents. Ott Kilusk, Piret Jaaks (1980), Katariina Libe (1986) and others have entered Estonian theatre through the contest.

What do playwrights write about?

The exploration of Estonian cultural history in different forms, from documentary theatre to historical speculations and fantasies, has become a dominant topic in twenty-first century Estonian drama. Dramaturg Ene Paaver has accentuated a common narrative of historical dramaturgy, where the so-called grand history of influential political events is reflected through the everyday life, intimate relations and personal experiences of a private life (2014, 78). The main characters are often famous artists, due to which the plays function as history lessons, anchors of national identity and meta-aesthetic contemplations.

The tradition of documentary drama has been present in Estonia since 1980, when Merle Karusoo (1944) started to produce theatre based on sociological research, predominantly interviews. Several theatre makers from the younger generations have decided to carry on this tradition and have staged verbatim productions about “rejected” topics: Estonian emigrants (Andra Teede, 45,339 km² of Bogs, 2015), people suffering from depression (Mari-Liis Lill, Paavo Piik Magick Mend… and Candle Burn, 2014), people who are intolerant of otherness (Maria Lee Liivak, Mari-Liis Lill Smaller on the Outside than Inside, 2017), introverts (Mari-Liis Lill, Aare Pilv, Priit Põldma, I Could Be Bounded in a Nutshell, 2022), domestic violence (Mari-Liis Lill’s, Priit Põldma’s In the Other Room, 2021) and diverse experiences of motherhood (Liis Aedmaa’s, Mother’s Day, 2017). Russian-Estonian director Julia Aug has made several documentary productions about Russians living in Estonia and the war in Ukraine: Х** войне. Ukraine. Letters from the Front (2022), #iamrussian (2023). Documentary productions, mainly based on direct monologues, have definitely broadened the poetics of realistic drama and theatre.

Some playwrights have tried to envision the future. Siret Campbell has explored the potential outcomes of body-mind separation in Beatrice (2017). With the ensemble of Vivarium (20203), Mihkel Seeder has tested the dynamics of like-minded communities in the form of participatory theatre. Still, the majority of Estonian dramaturgs tend to write about universal issues like human relations, existential and psychological problems and the social tensions of the twenty-first century.        

Considering the quantity of new drama (approx. 100 new texts and 30 adaptations are written and performed every year), Estonian playwriting is flourishing. In the aftermath of postdramatic theatre and with a growing number of writers, the level of dramaturgical craftsmanship is volatile, but authors working within or in collaboration with theatre stand out.

References

Campbell, Siret 2024. Oral interview with Anneli Saro. Tartu, 3.09.

Paaver, Ene. 2014. ‘Kohvi tuleb juua, mitte ära juua.’ – teater I tekstid. Eesti näitekirjanduse 20 aastat, 67–88. Tallinn: Eesti Teatri Agentuur.

Sihtasutus Eesti Teatri Agentuur. Strateegia aastateks 2020- 2024, https://www.teater.ee/static/files/068/eta_strateegia_2020-2024_sisu.pdf.