The House of the Known Unknowns programme now public!

On September 2nd, 2024, the Estonian Theatre Agency will open a centre for Estonian dramaturgy at the Tartu German Culture Institute, called the House of Known Unknowns (Äratundmishetkede Maja in Estonian), which will be open to the public for the duration of the Draama Festival. The programme of the centre is now public!

The House of Known Unknowns will open its doors on Monday, September 2nd at 14:00, welcoming visitors to a site-specific exhibition created in collaboration between the Estonian Theatre Agency and artist Illimar Vihmar, as well as to a pop-up library where they will be able to borrow plays from the holdings of the Tartu City Library. The programme of events will start at 15:00 with two book launches, Teatrielu 2023 (Theatre Life 2023), a book about the highlights of the past year's stage life, and the Estonian translation of Hans-Thies Lehmann's Postdramatic Theatre (translator Tiina-Erika Friedenthal, editors Madli Pesti and Luule Epner). A day later, on September 3nd, the house will host the opening ceremony of the Draama Festival and the House of Known Unknowns, followed by the first guided tour of the House of Known Unknowns exhibition.

As the backbone of the House of Known Unknowns is dramaturgy, the programme will include plenty of play-readings. On the evening of September 4th, a play by Rudo Verner Vallner, developed in the mentoring programme of Estonian Theatre Agency and mentored by Ivar Põllu, will be read, while on September 5th, a marathon of play readings will kick off, lasting until late on September 6th. Excerpts from 30 Estonian plays will be introduced during the marathon, staged by Maria Peterson, Birgit Landberg, Ivar Põllu, David Sandqvist (Finland), Karl Koppelmaa, Johan Elm, Kaili Viidas, Liis Aedmaa, Gildas Aleksa (Lithuania) and Elise Metsanurk. The plays have been selected and grouped by the dramaturgs Anne-Ly Sova and Sven Karja.

This year, the Estonian Theatre Agency is hosting the Baltic Drama Forum in cooperation with the Chair of Theatre Research at the University of Tartu, and therefore, the House of Known Unknowns schedule also includes two discussions in English. On September 4th at 11:00, guests from home and abroad will examine Baltic dramaturgy, and on September 8th at 13:00, the programme of the Draama Festival will be discussed. In a more informal setting, the week's events can be summed up on Saturday evening, September 7th, when the House of Known Unknowns and the Draama Festival will host a joint closing party.

The House of Known Unknowns is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.

More information can be found on the House of Known Unknowns subpage.