“Short–term“

Performances
Program

Parties

  • Directed by

    Semjon Aleksandrovski (Peterburi)

  • Stage design by

    Aleksei Lobanov (Moscow)

  • Conceived by

    Konstantin Stešik (Minsk)

  • Photography by

    Mark Raidpere (Tallinn)

  • Dramaturgy assistant

    Laur Kaunissaare

“Short-term“ is a documentary drama about memories and loneliness.

Memory is always private and personal: you remember exactly what your childhood playground looked like or the reindeer pattern on your favourite sweater. Smells, and sensations from the past keep coming back at most unexpected moments when your think you have forgotten all about it.

Common memories shared by parents with their sons and daughters link different generations together. 20th century has taught us that you can take away anything from people except their memories. Therefore, “We are what we remember“, a quote by the philosopher, and essayist George Steiner, carries a profound, humane and universal meaning.

“Short-term“ is primarily a dialogue between a son and his father, who suffers from short-term memory loss. In the play, which is both sad and humorous, short–term memory loss becomes a metaphor for communicational errors caused by selective memory. The spectators will hear several Estonian actors interviewing their fathers. The way how the director of “Short-term“, Semyon Aleksandrovsky, has woven these interviews into the fabric of the play is both intriguing and ultimately moving.

Semyon Aleksandrovsky is one of the most promising young theatre directors on the theatre landscape of St Petersburg. He graduated from the Theatre Academy of St Petersburg in 2007 and since then has been directing various productions in Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as in Abakan, Tshelyabinsk, and Krasnoyarsk. In 2014, he was nominated the Best Director at the prestigious Russian festival Golden Mask with his production “ Being There“ (Присутствие). As a director, Aleksandrovsky strives to experiment with both content and form in every production, creating innovative and original theatre projects including context and sight-specific performances of verbatim theatre. The docudrama “Short-term“ premiered in Minsk, Belarus. Before the Estonian production at Vaba Lava, the third version is staged at the Lappeenranta City Theatre in Finland.

Time: 60 minutes

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