Ugala play traces a human life through Viljandi’s old hospital

Ugala dramaturg Tõnis Parksepp told ERR’s Klassikaraadio that the theatre’s new production at Viljandi’s old hospital brings together the arc of a human life in a deeply moving way.

Lühem kui elu, or Shorter than life, premieres at Ugala on August 18. The documentary play is based on the old Viljandi hospital, which closed in 2025 after 40 years of operation.

The production’s idea had been discussed at Ugala for some time before the theatre’s new director, Heigo Teder, gave it fresh momentum about a year ago, Parksepp said.

Six months ago, the theatre began collecting stories about the hospital in cooperation with Viljandi Hospital and the Viljandi Museum. More than 50 people submitted memories and agreed to allow their stories to be used in the production. The team also spoke with many people who had worked at the hospital.

The performance will move through the building from the basement to the ninth floor. Some floors will be skipped, but the two-act production aims to encompass as much of the building as possible, Parksepp said.

The hospital was closed because it no longer met modern requirements and renovating it was not considered worthwhile. According to Parksepp, the title refers to the opportunity to say goodbye to the building and sum up what it meant to people in its time.

Memories collected for the production include birth stories, recollections of unusual incidents and negative experiences. Parksepp said the team had treated the people who entrusted them with their stories with the utmost respect.

“There is certainly no joking or laughing at the oddities of the time in the production,” he said. “Rather, we invite people to think and to pay attention to their own health and to the people around them, and to consider how to hold on to them in this transience.”

Some stories also reflected the hospital’s wider impact. Parksepp recalled how a family living in Jämejala village, near the hospital, had to watch who was getting off the bus because people heading to the hospital crossed their field and sometimes took vegetables, including cabbages. Other stories told how visits to the hospital inspired people to become doctors themselves.

The old hospital building also features in Arvo Iho’s film Only for the Mad, or Mercy Sister, which was filmed there when the hospital had recently opened.