Aare Toikka says art helps people understand one another

Theatre director Aare Toikka says art’s most important task is to help people understand one another. In an interview on Vikerraadio, ERR reported, he said theatre brings people together in the hope that they will understand each other.

Toikka is acting in Merle Karusoo’s production “When Roots Are Cut”, where he shares his own story. He said audiences had described it as moving and honest. In his directing work, he said, he has come to value the chance to understand people’s choices. Sharing a personal story can create a sense of being understood, he added.

Toikka said he has faced critical health problems, including complications related to a congenital aortic defect that led to examinations and surgery in Tartu. He later fell into a coma for a time and could not understand where he was until his wife, Tiina, explained what had happened. He praised the quality of Estonia’s medical care.

He said patients need to trust doctors while also working to regain their health. Toikka uses a wheelchair and walks with crutches; he said he had managed to cover 300 metres with them the last time he tried. He hopes to overcome recent setbacks and try again.

Toikka said he grew up speaking both Finnish and Estonian, and has Ingrian Finnish roots. He once wanted to become a surgeon, but changed his mind after a school placement at Pärnu Hospital, where he saw how bloody the work could be. A classroom play in fourth grade had first sparked his interest in theatre.

He said his first language was Finnish, which he spoke with his grandmother, but that his spiritual home is Estonian culture. He also feels at home in Finland.