Silver brings three Estonian women artists together on stage

ERR theatre critic Pille-Riin Purje reviews “Silver”, a R.A.A.A.M. production that brings together composer and choir conductor Miina Härma, singer Aino Tamm and poet Anna Haava, all born in 1864.

Written by Piret Jaak, the play premiered on July 24 in the barn at Kernu Manor. Its idea was developed by Karmen Mai Karus, with Helo Kaplinski and Iris Viru, and it was directed by Elina Pähklimägi.

The shared birth year provides the starting point for the play. Jaaks’ text, Pähklimägi’s sensitive direction and Tobias Tammearu’s sound design convey the three women’s lives and creative journeys, their meetings and separations, as well as their inspiration and doubts. Historical truth is combined with suggestion and flashes of fantasy, while the word “silver” recurs throughout the poetic text with several layers of meaning.

The natural setting of the Kernu Manor barn is complemented by Iir Hermeliin’s minimalist design. Birch logs stand on an otherwise empty stage, while dark doorways and curtains recede into the background. Paper walls and tall birch trunks are transformed by Priidu Adlas’ bright, ceremonial lighting.

The three actors each have a distinct presence, both individually and in their interaction. The production does not seek physical resemblance to the historical figures, although Juuli Lill occasionally offers a glimpse of Aino Tamm. Instead, the actors make the women’s inner worlds visible and audible, revealing their different natures with restraint and precision. The costumes reinforce those distinctions.

Riina Maidre’s Miina Härma radiates self-confidence, determination, fiery temperament and sharp-tongued independence. Her conducting of “Tuljak” at a song festival is one of the production’s climaxes.

As Aino Tamm, Juuli Lill conveys the brightness and sincerity of a singing voice, along with light coquettishness and occasional naivety. In Tamm’s troubled monologue, the singer Salme Pedak, a character from Eduard Vilde’s “The Elusive Miracle”, also appears as a distant reflection. Repeated remarks that Aino is too trusting seem to foreshadow her tragic end.

Maria Annus portrays Anna Haava like a poem, a pasque flower and a child of the north: reserved and often beset by doubts, fragile yet able to remain courageous through every trial. The actors’ singing voices blend beautifully.

Aarne Soro moves through around a dozen supporting roles as a tactful partner to the three women. With a few precise details, he quickly transforms into each character while retaining a sense of the period.

One of “Silver’s” central tensions is the unnecessary arrogance of critics and journalistic “distorting mirrors”, which can hurt a fragile creative spirit. The changing nature of the times is also reflected in a vivid scene involving Aino Tamm’s students, who call their teacher’s love of folk songs old-fashioned. The play thus turns its attention towards the present and the enduring value of cultural heritage.

One striking scene grows out of Miina Hermann-Härma sewing the first blue-black-white flag in 1884. The three women choose and examine the flag’s colours, with a note of doubt over whether the black is somehow gloomy.