The Estonia Page > Culture

Estonian Theatre

Contents:

According to popular belief in Estonia, a person of culture goes to the theatre at least once a year. Why theatre, and not a museum, cinema or concert? Theatre has slowly moved to the centre of the Estonian cultural landscape, from the viewpoint of both the state budget and the value systems of ordinary people. Measuring somebody's cultural interests by his visits to the theatre might seem a bit strange, but Estonians are used to that.

Compared to a Russian, Latvian or German, an Estonian goes to the theatre twice as often. In Europe, Estonia comes second only to Iceland in terms of the number of times people go to the theatre. About 800 000 theatre tickets are sold annually in Estonia, where the population is 1.5 million. This would be a wonderful indicator for any other country, but for Estonia it denotes a low point - compared to the last years of the Soviet Union, the audiences have diminished by half.

^ back to top

First Steps

The history of Estonian theatre does not differ much from that of the neighbouring countries. The first play was performed in the 16th century at the Tallinn Town Hall. The town school children, who were Germans, staged Terence's The Andria in Latin. The first theatre house in Tallinn was mentioned in written materials which date from the late 17th century; the house was used by travelling theatre groups. Tallinn was already known then as a theatre-loving city.

The first prominent name in Estonian history of theatre, August von Kotzebue, dates from the same period. The Russian authorities sent him from St.Petersburg to Tallinn to work as an official. Kotzebue's entertaining productions became famous all over Europe. He founded the first theatre with its own permanent cast, and brought the Estonian language to the stage. Theatre became especially popular amongst Estonians in the second half of the 19th century, as part of the national awakening process. Before that time, theatre had mostly been staged in German for the benefit of the local nobility and merchants. Theatre in Estonian emerged in various song and drama societies, the strongholds of national thought. In the early 20th century, these societies turned into professional theatres, some of which, the national opera Estonia for example, function even today. The scheme from society to theatre is a general phenomenon, because all the present state theatres once belonged to societies.

^ back to top

Despite the Censors

The Soviet occupation completely upset the stable development of Estonian theatre. In totalitarian conditions, theatre acquired new meaning; it was not strictly connected with art, but still continued to carry the national feelings. An important role was played by theatre, one of the most difficult areas to censure, in political undercurrents that were flowing in the shadow of the official building process of communism. The audiences were so eager to hear something forbidden, something that would outwit the alien authorities. Allusions, gestures, and leaving things unsaid all conveyed these messages. On the other hand, going to the theatre was a sensible way of spending one's wage money, which could be a problem in the chronic state of deficiency during the Soviet period.

At that time, the number of theatre-goers increased considerably. In 1985, the number of visits to the theatre equalled that of the whole population - 1.5 million. The state subsidies to professional theatres grew steadily. By the end of the Soviet period, theatres received more than two thirds of their income from the state.

Estonian theatre arts is a mixture of German (Max Reinhardt) and Russian (Konstantin Stanislavski) schools of theatre. The first is director-centred, focusing on the complex impression of acting, lighting, stage scenery and music. The key notions of the second are that the actors exhibit their creativity with every performance and get into the spirit of their characters. The end of the 1960s witnessed an emergence of young directors who were influenced by newer trends and people in theatre, including Jerzy Grotowski, Bertold Brecht, Peter Brook and Antonin Artaud. The best achievement in Estonian drama at that time was Paul-Eerik Rummo's The Cinderella Game which was also staged at the legendary La Mama theatre in New York's Off-Off-Broadway.

^ back to top

Not Used To Being Free

After the restoration of Estonia's independence (1991), the theatres were astonished by the disappearance of audiences. To fight this phenomenon, more new plays were staged, especially of the entertaining variety. This measure, and the gradual increase in state subsidies brought part of the audiences back to the theatre. Compared with film or publishing industries, theatres on the whole survived the radical changes in society rather painlessly; there were not any theatre closings and large-scale redundancies were avoided.

There are three schools in Estonia which provide higher education in drama. The oldest and most academic of them is the Higher School of Drama at the Estonian Academy of Music. The Viljandi Cultural College, which has close contacts with the Viljandi theatre 'Ugala', and the private school 'Theatrum' at the Estonian Institute of Humanities are the other institutions.

Theatres in Estonia, like elsewhere in the world, may be divided into three categories according to their form of ownership: state, municipal and private theatres. In Estonia, the first prevail; there are 9 state and 1 municipal theatre, the Tallinn City Theatre (Tallinna Linnateater). None of the 4 theatres in county centres are subordinate to local authorities, although such a decentralising policy is fairly common in most neighbouring countries. This derives from the decisions stated in Estonian cultural policy. The Official Estonian theatre policy has been regarded as an extension of the employment policy; theatres provide work for about 2000 persons all over Estonia. Theatres in small cities cannot be merely regarded as employers located far from centres and therefore the more valuable. The whole local cultural life is centred around them.

County centres have greatly benefited from the touring system initiated by the Ministry of Culture. This system compensates the additional expenses that the theatres encounter while on tour. This kind of subsidy system has been set as an example to other post-communist countries.

One of the six state theatres in Tallinn is the Russian Drama Theatre. Although its repertoire is Russian, quite a number of Estonian classical plays are staged there. The audiences are mostly people of Russian nationality. There are two music and dance theatres in Estonia: 'Vanemuine' in Tartu and the national opera 'Estonia'. The Vanemuine has its own drama company and is therefore the largest of Estonian theatres.

^ back to top

New Directions

State subsidised theatres usually have several theatre halls. The large halls are mostly used for more entertaining performances which attract huge audiences. The smaller halls are often left for experimental theatre because the relatively substantial subsidy is still not enough to warrant their presentation in the larger halls. In recent years, the state theatres have come to realise that it is highly profitable to operate during the summer, preferably in the open air. The audiences have readily accepted open air performances as pleasant entertainment.

Private and project theatres are relatively marginal in Estonia, regarding both the financial support they receive from the Ministry of Culture and the size of the audiences. In 1999, the state subsidised 7 non-state theatres. Each of these received 1 per cent of the whole sum of money designated for theatres while the the von Krahl theatre, one of the oldest theatres founded on private initiative and capital, received about half. At the von Krahl, the art of drama is supported by the income received from running a bar and a restaurant. It is a private theatre which owns one of Estonia's two black-box theatre halls, however, it has not chosen the path of producing box office hits. Instead, it is known as an experimental theatre.

Theatre played an important role in advancing and safeguarding the spirit of Estonians during both the period of last century's national awakening and the oppression of the Soviet regime. After the restoration of Estonia's independence, theatre lost its political significance and became one area of culture amongst many others. Nowadays, theatre has to prove its worth by means of art only. The future of Estonian theatre, which is fully dependent on the state purse, lies in the hands of politicians; they decide whether to continue subsidising the theatres. At the same time, a considerable part of the audiences are made up of young people. The fact that last year about 500 young people applied to the twenty places available at the Drama School, speaks volumes about the popularity of theatre in Estonia.

^ back to top

Useful Links

^ back to top
The Estonia Page > Culture

This fact sheet was published by the Estonian Institute in October 1999 and is intended to be used for reference purposes. It may be freely used in preparing articles, speeches, broadcasts, etc. No acknowledgement is necessary.