Estonia’s young audiences have a thriving theatre scene, organiser says

Theatre for young audiences in Estonia is developing well, festival organiser Marek Demjanov told ERR as a festival opens in Tallinn and Narva on Monday.

The programme includes spoken theatre, contemporary circus, dance and visual theatre for babies. It was designed to offer something for every age group. Demjanov said a survey of teachers in Narva this spring found that many wanted to see spoken theatre in Estonian.

This year’s festival is titled “Big and Small Dreams”. Demjanov said the title was symbolic and that the performances were selected for their links to dreams.

The 2026 Naks festival runs from October 20 to 24, mainly in Narva. On its opening day, October 19, the Salme Cultural Centre in Tallinn will host performances by the internationally recognised theatre companies Kompani Giraffi of Sweden and Le Moana of New Zealand.

Demjanov said the quality of theatre for young audiences in Estonia was good, though he would like to see more performances and a broader range of work, particularly for the youngest children. He also said contemporary circus was underrepresented in Estonia.

He added that parents and teachers play an important role in bringing young people to the theatre. While parents often have more time at weekends, teachers are usually responsible for cultural experiences during the school week, he said.