Rakvere play explores grief after a stillbirth

Rakvere Theatre’s Vöötrada explores grief after a stillbirth, using a bonsai as a symbol of care and loss, according to ERR. Madli Pesti’s review was originally published in Sirp.

Written by Vootele Ruusmaa and directed by Andres Noormets, Vöötrada won a playwriting competition held for Rakvere Theatre’s 85th season. It premiered on September 11 at the theatre’s small venue. Peeter Rästas and Anneli Rahkema play Gregor and Luna, whose child is stillborn.

Luna is left “dead inside,” the review says. Gregor gives her a bonsai, which is itself artificial and, in the production, made of plastic. Luna’s obsessive care for the tree reflects the care she would have given her child. Pesti notes that the play’s deliberately artificial language echoes this unnatural world, and describes Luna as seeming to have been pruned like the bonsai.

The play joins other recent Estonian works about the loss of a child. These include Siret Campbell’s Jäljed meie vahel, staged by Must Kast in 2025, and Klaaslaps, written by Maarja Kangro and adapted by Urmas Lennuk, which was recently in Rakvere Theatre’s repertoire. Ruusmaa has said that grief was important to him as a subject. The review also notes that he was inspired by Ugala Theatre’s 2024 production Kahe laine vahel, which likewise deals with the loss of a child.

Ruusmaa works as a composer, musician, writer and director. He has created music for nearly 50 productions, appeared in around 10 as an actor or musician, written several plays and published four poetry collections. Noormets, who has often directed prize-winning plays from writing competitions, is known for supporting new Estonian drama, the review says.

Vöötrada’s cast also includes Loviise Kapper. The production’s creative team includes set and sound designer Noormets, costume designer Maarja Viiding, lighting designer Villu Konrad and video artist Rästas.