Naks theatre festival brings performances to Tallinn and Narva

The Naks theatre festival for young audiences will run from October 19 to 24, with events in Tallinn and Narva, ERR reported. Most of the programme will take place in Narva, a border city, from October 20 to 24.

On the eve of the festival, October 19, Tallinn’s Salme Cultural Centre will host performances by Swedish company Kompani Giraff and New Zealand dance theatre Le Moana. The programme is aimed at children and young people of different ages, families, teachers and theatre professionals, and includes discussions and meetings alongside performances.

For babies and their parents, Draakonipesa will present Winter Magic, a wordless visual journey through a winter wonderland inhabited by rabbits, goats and snow foxes. After the show, children can explore the puppets used in the production. Kompani Giraff’s ABC uses circus techniques to introduce letters and the alphabet to preschool and early primary school children. Finnish-Czech theatre Krepsko will perform Fabsurdia, set in a detailed miniature world, while VAT Theatre will bring The Adventures of Skeleton Juhan, based on a book by Triinu Laan.

For pupils in the second and third stages of basic school, Le Moana will perform Shel We, connected to the work of writer and poet Shel Silverstein and his book The Giving Tree. Theatre Lendav Lehm will bring Nocturne. Song of the Night, directed by Jevgeni Ibragimov, to Narva. The promenade performance draws on Sufi motifs and takes place outside a conventional theatre auditorium.

Kompani Giraff will also present A Study of Losses, combining aerial acrobatics, object manipulation and music. The production explores loss, memories and vanished worlds. Its music was created by Beirut, the stage name of Zach Condon.

For older pupils, Miksteater will stage Oscar and the Pink Lady: Letters to God, based on a work by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt and addressing the relationship between a sick child and their caregiver, as well as questions of life and death. Kuressaare Theatre’s Diary of an Ugly Girl, for audiences aged 12 and older, explores a young person’s experience and feelings of exclusion.

The family programme includes Kompani Giraff’s A Study of Losses at the Rugodiv Cultural Centre on Wednesday evening, and Uncle Nightingale, based on Ellen Niit’s book of the same name, at Piip ja Tuut Theatre on Saturday. Several performances will be followed by discussions with the artists, giving audiences a chance to talk about the productions and ask questions.