Ugala stages farewell play inside Viljandi’s old hospital

Ugala Theatre is staging 13 performances of the promenade production Shorter Than Life inside Viljandi’s old hospital, offering a farewell to the nine storey building where people were born, recovered and experienced some of life’s most difficult moments. ERR reported.

The hospital operated in Jämejala village for more than 40 years. The performances begin on Tuesday, with the audience divided into four groups. Depending on the group, the production may start in the maternity ward, the surgery department or the autopsy room.

The production draws on interviews with former hospital employees and memories shared by patients. Dramaturge and director Priit Põldma described it as a blend of documentary and poetic approaches, based on real people and stories, although none of the characters has a single, specific real life counterpart.

Liina Olmaru’s role was inspired by Arvo Iho’s feature film Only for the Mad, or Mercy Sisters, which was filmed at Viljandi Hospital and starred Margarita Terekhova. Olmaru said she was not playing or trying to imitate Terekhova, but rather an actress searching for the essence of her role.

Karel Käos is making his first appearance at Ugala. Because the production moves through the hospital, each scene must be performed four times. Käos said that did not necessarily mean four opportunities to improve, since every audience was different.

Theatre critic Jaak Allik said Janek Vadi’s performance as an autopsy doctor and Luule Komissarov’s role as a surgeon particularly affected him. He said the production offered moments to think, cry and laugh, as theatre should.