Triin Ruumet brings reality TV to Von Krahl stage

Film director Triin Ruumet will present her first theatre production, “Ma tahan uskuda” (“I Want to Believe”), at Von Krahl theatre on Wednesday evening, ERR reported. The production explores the chaotic world of reality television.

Von Krahl actor Edgar Vunš said Ruumet brought the idea to the theatre when they first met. “Triin has always been interested in reality as such. It seems to be very good material and a way to dissect it,” he said.

Dramaturg Joosep Lõhmus, who graduated from acting school in the spring, said the team also met television professionals who had worked on reality shows.

“Although society may look at the participants in these shows with a smile or from above, the more deeply you immerse yourself in them, the more it may seem that the people taking part are perhaps at the happiest and most emotionally rich points of their lives,” Lõhmus said.

He said reality shows contain “a surprising amount of sincerity and real life, or the compressed quintessence of it”. At the same time, he added, it is difficult to find a common denominator among their participants.

“These shows are very different, and the people who take part in them cannot be viewed or judged in the same way,” Lõhmus said. “They often have a strong desire to find something more, as if hoping that the show will offer them the life they long for. Our production also speaks about a desired life and actively creating that same life.”

Once the spectacle is removed, the production becomes “quite sad and existential”, Lõhmus said. “You start to feel sorry for both the actors and the characters.”

Vunš said the play is also funny. “We have once again made a comedy, as often happens with the Krahl troupe. Several times we have wanted to make a tragic play, but it still turns into a comedy. In reality, the two are very close.”

As part of their preparation, the team watched reality shows for hours at a time, including the Estonian series “Rannamaja”, which they watched carefully and several times. They also watched “The Bachelor”, various American survival shows and witchcraft shows, and tried to find Estonia’s earliest reality programmes.

The team also discussed reality with Kalev Rajangu. Lõhmus said the philosophical dimension had accompanied the entire rehearsal process and could be found in the production, even if it was not immediately apparent.

Vunš said he had never previously worked as an actor in a situation like Ruumet’s production. The performance operates on several levels, he said, including between the characters, between the performers and the audience, and through the use of a camera. The most difficult part for him is a song number.