Draama festival opens in Tartu with mechanical installation

The Draama festival, a showcase of contemporary Estonian theatre, begins in Tartu on Monday with a large-scale mechanical installation, ERR reported. The festival runs at venues across Tartu until September 13 and presents theatre to audiences in Tartu and southern Estonia.

The festival opens at the Samelin factory with “Mixed Signals,” an installation by Renzo van Steenbergen and Kristjan Pütsepp. As this year marks 30 years since the first Draama festival, the installation will be open free of charge throughout the anniversary festival.

The main programme includes 13 productions. Festival executive director Mari Nurk said this year’s selection reflects the diversity, boldness and international relevance of Estonian theatre.

“The festival brings Tartu audiences together with very different theatrical forms and authorial styles,” Nurk said. The programme includes a punk musical, a car-based production and several large-scale productions, alongside works by established theatre-makers and full-length debuts by very young directors.

The additional programme includes discussion panels, meetings with theatre-makers, a concert evening and public recordings of two podcasts. Nurk said the programme would give Estonian and international theatre professionals an opportunity to discuss and define the future directions of theatre together.

A two-day Estonian theatre conference is among the highlights of the additional programme. It marks the 35th anniversary of the Estonian Performing Institutions’ Association. The festival will also host the theatre laboratory “New Foundation”, dedicated to contemporary Nordic dramaturgy and emerging Estonian directors.