THE THEATRE CLUB OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (“COURT IN THE ACT”) and TAGORA present:

“GRANDFATHER” (“VANAISA”)

A PLAY BY MAIMU BERG TO MARK THE CENTENARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA

DIRECTED BY DAVID ADAMSON

THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2018, AT 13.00 IN THE SMALL DRUM OF THE

COURT

Lembit: “/../ Maybe it’s cowardice, but I don’t want to start all over again, even if nothing but goodness and beauty awaited me. That’s not reality. Happiness and goodness aren’t reality, they’re an illusion. /../ My journey ... They are my sufferings and losses, but also my victories. Let it be. And as for the state – that is our common lot. I can’t speak on behalf of a nation. It’s not for me to decide, but if you ask me, it’s our history, complicated and hard, but I am proud of it, so let the future bring what it may.”

“Grandfather” is a play written by Estonian author Maimu Berg specially for the Theatre Club of the European Court of Human Rights (“Court in the Act”) and the English-speaking Drama Society of the Council of Europe (Tagora) to mark the centenary of the Estonian Republic. Maimu Berg is best known for her novels and short stories, which have been awarded various prizes and translated into German, English, Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Latvian and French, but she has also been honoured for her radical and creative translations of Finnish drama. Maimu Berg’s interest in the theatre has prompted her to write several plays, and she has recently won a prize for her play “Salong”. The opening verse of the play is from “Kalevipoeg”, a nineteenth-century Estonian epic by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, based on old Estonian folklore and translated into French by Antoine Chalvin. The Republic of Estonia came into being on 24 February 1918 and, despite the brutal suppression of its independence for half a century, was re-established on 20 August 1991. “Grandfather” narrates, in a family setting, the main historical events and turning points of Estonia’s recent past. The play has been translated into English by Siiri Aulik and edited by Martin Weston. The scenes of the play are set in October 1944 and February 2018.

Directed by David Adamson

Cast: Lembit, grandfather: young Lembit: Sebastian Yobe Bowen

old Lembit I: Martin Weston old Lembit II: Richard Thayer

Rutt, his granddaughter: Julia Laffranque Leida, his sister: Janis Symons Hilja, his wife: Jeannine O’Kane

Regina, the woman he loves: Natalia Kobylarz

Costumes: Marie-Claude Leroux Technical and sound: David Crowe and Jeannine O’Kane

Many thanks for the photos to: Operationworld.org/esto; “1944” 2015 Estonian war film directed by Elmo Nüganen by Taska Film; “Kultuur ja Elu” journal, Printerest; Taskutark; Hiiumaa Muuseumid SA; Võsavennad.blogspot; Estonian film “Tuulte pesa”, Tallinfilm 1979: Vaino Vahing, Evald Aavik, Ain Lutsepp; Ajapaik.ee; “Postimees” newspaper; Tallinna Keskraamtukogu; Saaremaa Muuseum; Eesti Filmiarhiiv; Eesti Päevaleht/Delfi; State Automation/Estonian National Opera; Postinstrumentum/Wordpress; Okia.ee; Private Photo archive of Helmut Seping and Julia Laffranque; Martyn Symons. And for the music: Arhailise Meestelaulu Selts: Venna sõjalugu (My Brother’s War Story); Lullaby: Päike läks ära magama (The sun has gone to sleep); Heino Eller, Kodumaine viis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_filmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_N%C3%BCganenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_N%C3%BCganen