Teatrielu 2025 book release

As has become tradition, the Estonian Theatre Union will once again present its latest Estonian theatre yearbook Teatrielu at this year’s DRAAMA festival; this year’s editors are theater critic and researcher Karin Allik and dramaturg Oliver Issak. 

The book presentation will feature remarks from both the book’s creators and a reviewer, and Tiia Sippol, theater statistics specialist at the Estonian Theater Agency, will present an overview of theater statistics for 2025, followed by a discussion on why we need Teatrielu. At the end of the presentation, the Teatrielu 2025 book will be available for purchase on-site.

“This edition of Teatrielu features 11 articles by 16 authors (and one translator), focusing less on productions — since daily reviews already cover those quite effectively — and more on individuals, trends, and narratives that only emerge when viewed from a distance. If one were to look for a common thread in these pieces, it might be described by the broad concept of “risk.” Although we did not impose this concept on any of the authors, an interest in risk now stands out as we look back at our own editorial work in the rearview mirror. Is it possible to take risks (both creatively and politically) in today’s theater landscape? Who is allowed to take risks, and who is not? What does taking risks give, and what does it take away? What is risk, anyway? These questions have shaped our choices both consciously and subconsciously,” the editors write in their introduction to the work.