Teater NO99 (EE):
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Onu Tomi onnike)
Trafó – House of Contemporary Arts, 27-28. November 2009. 8.00 PM
Budapest, IX. Liliom utca 41.
160 minutes with one intermission, in Estonian with Hungarian subtitles
Post-performance talkback after the show on 28th in English with Hungarian translation
Tickets available: +36 1 215 1600 és jegy@trafo.hu
with
Andres Mähar, Rasmus Kaljujärv, Eva Klemets m.v., Sergo Vares, Inga Salurand, Marika Vaarik, Mirtel Pohla, Risto Kübar
Written by Harriett Beecher-Stowe, Tiit Ojasoo, Ene-Liis Semper
Directed by Tiit Ojasoo, Ene-Liis Semper
It is not a coincidence that many compare Teater NO99 with Krétakör Theatre. The Estonian company works with a set troupe of actors, elaborating new productions in a long and intense workshop-process, often shedding a new light on classics, reinterpreting them in a contemporary manner. The actors are given substantial freedom to improvise, and the performance space is not just a mere set, a cage of acting, but organic, time to time active part of the production. Ojasoo and company are given the chance to introduce themselves with such an astounding adaption-reinterpretation: Uncle Tom's Cabin tries and evokes Negro stereotypes from American minstrel shows and blackface comedy. It lends the performance a part fun, part playful, part painful and dramatic dynamic. The show is the first guest-performance of Teater NO99 in Hungary, and the first invitation for Uncle Tom's Cabin.
"Uncle Tom’s Cabin was singled out as the only work of art that has truly changed the world. This novel was published in the mid-19th century and brought the knowledge into American homes that slavery is atrocious and that Negros have feelings. It is thought that the Civil War that broke out, as a result of which slavery was abolished, fed off just this knowledge to a great extent. This novel could indeed have caused the Civil War, as the President of the USA said when he met the author of the book – a little old lady. But this did not change the world, because the world did not change. Slavery still exists. (...) The only change is that Negros are no longer only people with dark skin."
| Tiit Ojasoo was born in 1977 and graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Drama School in 2000. Later on he also completed his Masters' studies at the same institution. He worked with the Estonian Drama Theatre as a director. Since 2004 he has been the artistic director of the Old City Studio (Vanalinnastuudio), which name he had changed to Teater NO99 in 2005. |
Ene-Liis Semper was born in 1969. She graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 1995 as a scenographer. Ever since then she has been a prolific artist: she has designed sets and costumes for almost hundred productions in Estonian drama theatres and opera. She has been awarded The Best Scenographer of the Year award four times. |
Read further at www.trafo.hu, www.dramafestival.hu, www.no99.ee
