Abstract
The chapter examines intermedial relations between the audience, the performance, and social and political context in the production The Rise and Fall of Estonia of Tallinn-based Theatre NO99. The production is an example of how intermedial theatre engages with political debates and takes part in forming and re-thinking collective memory and identity patterns. In the chapter, the intermedial relations in the performance are discussed through the lens of Erika Fischer-Lichte’s concept of the feedback loop. Replacing the actual presence of the performers with a live video transmission and cinematic aesthetics caused a tension between the performance and the spectators. In this production, mediation, absence and presence, gazes and screens opened up a space of a troubled feedback loop, making clearly visible social relations in contemporary Estonia.
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Notes
- 1.
Also written in Cyrillic: ГЭП, directed by Tiit Ojasoo and Ene-Liis Semper. The title is an ironic expression in Russian: Garyachiye estonskiye parni or Hot Estonian Guys. GEP was a postdramatic performance of a fictional men’s club which decided to save the nation by impregnating as many women as possible.
- 2.
Directed by Ojasoo and Semper ; the title is a reference to Joseph Beuys’s happening. The production was influenced by performance art, happening, and contemporary dance.
- 3.
Directed by Ojasoo and Eero Epner, Tallinn—Our City was a guided city tour performance in Tallinn’s Old Town.
- 4.
In some translations, given as United Estonia Convention—a reference to United Russia. In 2015, a revised version of Unified Estonia was awarded the Grand Prix at the Prague Quadriennal.
- 5.
Estonian Song and Dance Celebrations are held every 4 years with thousands of participants and are known as the cornerstone of national identity. The pivotal moment of the tradition was in the late 1980s, when the so-called Singing Revolution of non-violent mass gatherings led to the collapse of Soviet rule.
- 6.
Since 2014 it has been called Nordea Concert Hall.
- 7.
The actual impact of the project was obvious in 2012, in the so-called Silvergate scandal, when a young politician, Silver Meikar, made public the corrupt funding mechanisms of the Reform Party. In his public letter about the affairs, Meikar stressed the direct influence of Unified Estonia Convention on his action .
- 8.
In 2015, NO99 staged a musical tragedy, Savisaar, performed during the election period with the last performance occurring on 1 March, the day of Parliament elections. In 2017, Savisaar was on trial, charged with accepting bribes, money laundering, embezzlement, and accepting prohibited donations for the Centre Party.
- 9.
The pioneer movement was the Communist youth organization. Not being a member of the pioneer movement in the USSR would most likely mean social isolation for a child.
- 10.
The gender pay gap (GPG) in Estonia is among the highest in Europe, reaching 30 % according to Eurostat in 2012.
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Oruaas, R. (2018). Troubled Feedback Loop: The Rise and Fall of Estonia by Theatre NO99. In: Arfara, K., Mancewicz, A., Remshardt, R. (eds) Intermedial Performance and Politics in the Public Sphere. Avant-Gardes in Performance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75343-0_8
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