Urmas Lennuk says loneliness kills more people than cancer

Playwright and director Urmas Lennuk says loneliness is one of the biggest problems in modern society and believes it kills more people than cancer, ERR reported in an interview on its programme OP.

Lennuk began working at Rakvere Theatre in 2000 and has spent about 20 years there, apart from a brief period at Vanemuine. He said the close relationships among colleagues had kept him in Rakvere.

“Theatre is inevitably a family. We do not get paid much, but at least we get something else in return,” he said.

In December, Rakvere Theatre is due to stage Lennuk’s Christmas production, “12 Gifts for Santa Claus.” He has written and directed plays for children before, but said the way to engage young audiences has changed. Children who have grown up with smart devices expect something to happen constantly, he said.

Lennuk said it is now harder to find places where people talk to one another. He used to gather ideas for plays by listening to conversations on public transport, but said even anonymous online comments were disappearing. Children, he added, are open and often speak loudly about what is happening at home and school.

As a writer, he is drawn to stories about small, unhappy people, as well as themes of Estonian identity and outlying regions. He said he found the perspectives of people in Setomaa, in South Estonia, more interesting than those of people in cities, which he felt often looked alike.

Lennuk said he tries to understand why people behave as they do, even when they seem bitter or pessimistic. He said he had noticed himself becoming more negative with age and makes an effort to look for the positive.

He hopes to write his first novel about loneliness. Lennuk said he believes loneliness can lead to depression, and worries especially about schoolchildren who cannot find a way out of isolation. He added that parents’ focus on work can leave children feeling unsupported.

Tags: theatre, loneliness, Estonia