Functions and Techniques of Critique in Contemporary Estonian Theatre

Abstract

This article examines the techniques of scenic criticism in contemporary Estonian theatre. The examples vary in scale and style from the huge political show Unified Estonia by Theatre NO99 (2010) with 7500 participants, which investigated the crisis of democracy in a posttotalitarian country, to the self-ironic search for identity of the small ethnic community called Setos in How to Sell a Seto? (2012). This theatrical piece tackled tragic autobiographical choices of young Setos: old traditions versus contemporary trends, village versus city, building or selling their symbolic capital.