Kivirähk says staging all five volumes reveals Indrek’s story

The Estonian Drama Theatre has premiered a production based on all five volumes of A. H. Tammsaare’s “Truth and Justice,” adapted by Andrus Kivirähk. He told ERR that bringing the books together helps audiences understand the motives and life story of the central character, Indrek Paas.

The production, directed by Hendrik Toompere Jr., premiered on Saturday, the novel’s 100th anniversary. Kivirähk said the timing was accidental: the theatre had initially planned to stage it later, but changed its schedule.

Kivirähk said he had long considered combining all five books into one stage work. Indrek’s story runs through the entire series, he said, but when each book is staged separately, the character can seem like a supporting figure and his motives and eventual destination are harder to follow.

He sees “Truth and Justice” as Indrek’s life story, rich in symbols and subtext. Kivirähk noted the many biblical quotations and allusions, describing the first book as the Old Testament and the later volumes as a kind of New Testament. The books also contain adventure, passion, love, drama and conflict, he said.

Condensing the novels into a production of about three hours was challenging, Kivirähk said, given the vivid characters and strong monologues and dialogue. Because the stage version focuses on Indrek, scenes in which he does not appear were cut. The words spoken on stage are all Tammsaare’s, he said, although the cast and director added and removed passages from the novels during rehearsals.

Kivirähk said he aims to present Tammsaare’s work as faithfully as possible. For those unable to see the production, he recommended reading the books, praising their rich language, paradoxes and dry humour.

He does not believe “Truth and Justice” must be compulsory reading for schoolchildren. Students should learn what the work is about, he said, but may appreciate it more later in life, after gaining experience of relationships and other personal concerns.