TalTech play revisits student life during 1968

ERR reported that a summer play premiering at Tallinn University of Technology on Friday will take audiences into student life in the late 1960s. Written by Andra Teede, Now I Study in Mustamäe is based on genuine memories of the university’s alumni.

The production will be staged in the courtyard of Tallinn University of Technology and is being presented under the leadership of the university’s alumni association.

The play follows Kaarel, a talented country boy who begins studying automation and telemechanics, and his roommates. They grapple with enduring questions about how to fulfil their dreams, find a suitable partner, achieve success and remain true to themselves.

Their daily lives unfold during a turbulent period, when the restrictions imposed by a foreign power supported by the KGB stood in contrast to the Prague Spring, rock and roll was sweeping the West, and technology was advancing rapidly.

Director Veiko Tubin said the theme of freedom was what attracted him most to the story.

“These young people lived at a time when they had fewer choices than people do today, but their dreams were no smaller. The play is not only about one student cohort or one university. It is about people trying to find their place in the world,” Tubin said.

“The late 1960s were full of contrasts: on one hand, rapid technological development, young people’s courage and their desire to change the world; on the other, fear, control and limits. Yet the young people of that time managed to lead joyful lives and conduct science that changed the world.”

The cast includes Jass Kalev Mäe, Maris Nõlvak, Theodor Tabor, Karl Robert Saaremäe, Oskar Punga, Egon Nuter, Kadri Lepp, Martin Mill, Piret Krumm, Ingrid Pappel, Kristjan Knight, Iko-Erik Uustalu, Sander Kõiv, Johanna Poll, Mia-Marleen Tõnis and Kevin Räim.