Merle Karusoo premieres play about Ingrian Finnish family roots

Merle Karusoo’s project “When Roots Are Cut…” premieres at Tallinn’s Sakala 3 Theatre House on Thursday, bringing the family stories of Estonian theatre-makers with Ingrian Finnish roots to the stage, ERR reported.

The production is part of Karusoo’s “Who Am I” project, which examines difficult choices made during the Second World War and the Soviet era and connects them with life in present-day Estonia.

The stories explore how national identity has changed across generations, what people have had to preserve or conceal, and how ancestry shapes an individual. They also examine the integration of Ingrian Finns into Estonian society and ask how the choices of ancestors influence identity today.

The production raises broader questions about what it means to belong to a small nation and how people can preserve their distinctiveness and identity as boundaries between cultures and nationalities increasingly fade.

The cast includes Elmo Nüganen, Saara Nüganen of Endla Theatre, Aare Toikka, Ester Kuntu, Ringo Ramul, Laine Mägi of the Estonian Drama Theatre, Jaan Tristan Kolberg, Aleksander Kuchmezov Iganus of City Theatre, and Uku Suislep. All have Ingrian Finnish roots.

Karusoo is the director. Pille Jänes designed the set, Laura Romanova created the video art and Terje Kagovere designed the lighting.

“When Roots Are Cut…”, previously titled “Who Am I? The Ingrians”, is a collaboration between VAT Theatre and Vaba Lava. The premiere begins at 7 p.m. on September 17 in the main hall of Sakala 3 Theatre House. Further performances will take place in Tartu at the Estonian National Museum and Tartu New Theatre.