The Südalinna Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0
The celebrated Russian Theatre in the Estonian capital Tallinn has officially been renamed the Südalinna Theatre in the most symbolic identity shift in the playhouse’s 75-year history, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Tuesday.
According to the theatre’s director, Anne-Li Päiv, the name change, which is pending final confirmation by Estonia’s Culture Ministry, will not affect the style of the theatre’s productions, which are performed entirely in the Russian language with simultaneous Estonian translation.
In interviews published Tuesday, the day the change in name was announced, Päiv stressed that the decision was “internal and strategic” but also highlighted the importance of external factors, such as the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The issue arose because there is a war going on, and many people are repulsed by the presence of the word ‘Russian’ in the [theatre’s] title”, Päiv told ERR.
In a second interview published to the theatre’s website, Päiv said that Südalinna, which in Estonian means “heart of the city”, was chosen as a neutral name, in order to appeal to all audiences.
Citing the recent decision of Estonia’s Culture Ministry to cut the theatre’s funding by 15%, other senior figures at the playhouse also stressed the need to broaden its appeal.
In a policy statement published on Thursday, the theatre’s creative director Dmitry Petrenko said that the Russian theatre “cannot exist in a cultural and political vacuum”, while Margus Allikmaa, chairman of the theatre’s board signalled the likelihood of a change in content, even if performances continue to be held in Russian:
“There will be more Estonian directors, artists and, of course, more texts by Estonian authors than before. Integration is a bad word, but I cannot find a better one. The Russian Theatre has the opportunity to make a much greater contribution to this process than it has so far”, he said.
Of 61 theatres registered in Estonia, the Russian Theatre is the only one nationally that performs in the Russian language. Russian is the mother tongue of 29% of residents of the country, according to Statistics Estonia. The theatre first opened its doors on 15 December 1948, and was known until 2005 as the State Russian Drama Theatre of Estonia.
