An unexpected modern take on Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Young Finnish director Antti Mikkola first visited Tallinn City Theatre with Playing the Queen which was part of the Midwinter Night’s Dream festival programme in 2014. It was a dark and witty, atmospheric play helped by the video and lighting design of Tiiti Hynninen. Both Antti and Tiiti have now returned to Tallinn City Theatre, bringing with them Karmo Mende, an Estonian set designer working in Finland – to bring to stage another dark and witty play, a reworking of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Usually in this tragedy, grand ambitions stem from royal roots. Mikkola’s Macbeth, however, inhabits the very smallest unit of contemporary democracy – a voluntary sports union. Some money is stolen from the account and Macbeth becomes a board member. Trying to please his insomniac wife, Macbeth commits a crime from which there is no point of return. The events that unfold in this contemporary affair doggedly recall the Scottish king plays thousands of years ago, with passions raging as, if not more, powerful.

Antti Mikkola has used a similar re-writing technique on Romeo and Juliet (2014) and King Lear (2013). His latest works include Rakkaita pettymyksiä rakkaudessa (2016), which was selected for the Tampere Theatre Festival, and Ei voi auttaa, sori (2016), which had a double premiered at Telakka Teatteri and Tampereen Työväen Teatteri. In 2015, Mikkola received the Olavi Veistäjä award from the Finnish Cultural Endowment.

Awards:
2018 Antti Mikkola – Tallinn City Theatre’s colleague award for best director
2018 Tiiti Hynninen – Tallinn City Theatre’s colleague award for best supporting designer
2018 Alo Kõrve – Tallinn City Theatre’s colleague award for best actor
2018 Hele Kõrve – Tallinn City Theatre’s colleague award for best actress
2018 Kaspar Velberg – Tallinn City Theatre’s colleague award for best supporting actor