Postmodernism siirdeajastu Eesti teatris [Postmodernism in the Estonian theatre in the transition period]

Summary. The article gives an overview of the emergence of postmodern aesthetics in the Estonian theatre and the response it received in the theatre discourse during the transitional period. The postmodernisation of different arts occurred at various speeds and in a different scope. In the Estonian theatre, postmodernism was less pronounced than in other arts, being limited to individual directors and theatre groups. Postmodern aesthetics and the worldview that carried them permeated the Estonian theatre mainly through non-state theatre groups operating outside the state theatre system. The article first examines the short-lived theatre groups created in the late 1980s, such as Gregor and Ruto Killakund. It then focuses on the Von Krahl Theatre, founded in 1992 as the first Estonian private theatre, led by Peeter Jalakas. The article also analyses the postmodernist features of the productions of Mati Unt and Evald Hermaküla, directors who worked in state theatres. In general, postmodernism emerged in the Estonian theatre in the 1990s (although it did not become mainstream) and began to influence theatre aesthetics more strongly in the early 21st century. However, the theories of postmodernism did not take root in the theatre discourse. This developmental inertia is usually explained by the theatre’s institutionalism and the resulting dependence on audiences. The individual Estonian leading directors’ choices contributed to this, as well as a very weak conceptualisation of postmodernism in the theatre criticism of the time. The styles that were alternative to the mainstream were accepted in post-Soviet theatre discourse but were described as peripheral, largely because the private theatres of the 1990s were placed in the context of amateur theatre. The synchronic criticism constructed the theatrical canon based on state theatres, and therefore, postmodernist features in the Estonian transitional theatre have remained in the background. Keywords: postmodernism, Estonian contemporary theatre, Estonian theatre discourse, Von Krahl Theatre, Peeter Jalakas, Evald Hermaküla, Mati Unt