Play database

The Missionaries is a documentary play based on interviews with Soviet army veterans who fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and Dee Brown’s book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee on the American Indian wars wars. The bridge between these two wars was inspired by the childhood journal of one of the men who fought in Afghanistan. The play also refers to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
From playing Native Americans as children to fighting in Afghanistan as grown men, the former soldiers narrate their memories, also commenting on the current events in Iraq. The memories are presented as fragments, intertwined with songs, passages from the book, letters, statements, etc. Their stories are simple and sincere, representing the thoughts, fears and hopes of single individuals caught in a massive political act.
In the extreme circumstances of Afghanistan, these young Estonian men experience violence, death, battle, hunger, exhaustion, nervous breakdown, being bullied and bullying others. There are also joys worth remembering – from a friend surviving or an innocent person not getting killed to being saved from hunger thanks to dried bread and canned cheese.
The play is driven by a strong belief that war can never be good, no matter how well justified or legal it may be. Thus, The Missionaries also carries a clear message for tomorrow.