Rakvere Theatre premieres five-hour Karin and Indrek

Rakvere Theatre will premiere Karin and Indrek on its main stage on Saturday evening, ERR reported. The production is based on the fourth part of A. H. Tammsaare’s Truth and Justice and is directed by Artjom Garejev.

The play is set in a museum, which Garejev said symbolises how values such as truth and justice are rarely considered today and have become like museum exhibits.

“In a museum, we communicate with the past and talk with time. We bring out old things, old ideas, old thoughts and old values described in the novel a hundred years ago, and try to test them in the present,” Garejev said.

Madis Mäeorg, who plays Indrek Paas, said Tammsaare’s writing fits the present day well. He noted that the novel was written after the First World War and before the Second World War, while the current period is also marked by uncertainty about how the world will develop.

Garejev said the production was designed to be understandable even to viewers who are not familiar with Tammsaare’s pentalogy. The characters introduce themselves when they come on stage, giving the audience the essential information about who they are.

The three-act production lasts nearly five hours and requires highly precise stage work. Mäeorg praised the stage crew for ensuring that everything is in the right place at the right time. Garejev said a technical mistake could affect the actors’ performance and damage the audience’s experience, although a well-executed transition could also make a scene more powerful.

The dramatization is by Elmo Nüganen. The creative team includes artist Mo-Lu, choreographer Alissa Šnaider, music designer Natalja Dõmtšenko and lighting designer Roomet Villau. The cast includes Liisa Aibel, Rainer Elhi, Margus Grosnõi, Reio Kiviberg, Kaja Kupp, Aune Kuul, Riho Lillakas, Märten Matsu, Silja Miks, Madis Mäeorg, Laura Niils, Eduard Salmistu, Johannes Richard Sepping, Tarvo Sõmer, Carolyn Veensalu, Anne Veesaar, Hendrik Vilde and Imre Õunapuu.