by Martin Algus and Ingomar Vihmar has been produced at the Estonian Drama Theatre.
Director Ingomar Vihmar, designers Ingomar Vihmar and Martin Algus (as guest), lighting designer Triin Suvi, singing teacher Siim Selis (as guest), supporter of the birth of the play Svea Sööt (as guest).
The rehearsed reading of “ The Blossoming ” took place in Estonian Drama Theatre on February 17, 2011.
It was performed for the first time on March 13, 2011 on the small stage of Estonian Drama Theatre with the following cast: Ichiro Ivo Uukkivi, Itsumi Harriet Toompere (Iti), Masamichy Margus Prangel, Tetsushi Tiit Sukk, Kiyomi Kleer Maibaum (as guest), Mikihiko Mihkel Kabel.
Even if at first glance, the story of the intertwined love of two couples does not seem that great, this rendering by Ingomar Vihmar and Martin Algus is touching and profound. The production unfolds as a series of images from the 1970s. The protagonists are people in their early middle age and the focus is on their intimate relationships that already entail routine and disappointment but also unfulfilled passion and force of emotions. The sad is intertwined with the funny. Quiet and sneaking dissatisfaction explodes with unexpected intensity. Few words are spoken, silence and what is left unsaid plays an important role. However, the minimalist roles have undercurrents that say a lot about the characters. Commenting on the play, the authors have said that life itself is more mysterious than any question one can encounter in one’s lifetime; love is more sublime that any answer we can come up with. The text of the play was refined all through the rehearsal process. The rehearsals included liberating breathing and relaxation exercises, the actors were freed from the tensions that held them down - this is important because the play deals with the self-perception of people, longings that are not verbalised or acknowledged, escaping the trap of their own prejudices. Actress Harriet Toompere writes in the programme of the play: “I have come to acknowledge that if I listen to myself, my body, my emotions and not that clanging buzzing in my head, I can never go wrong. /.../ I have learnt that dreams have power. I have learnt to know my feelings. Allowed myself to know my feelings. I am cherished and loved exactly the way I am. And that I, too, have something to give, to offer. Even if only by existing. I have come to love the silence between words, to appreciate the silence between sounds. It is during these moments that something that remains is born. I thank you, my dear blossomers.”
Martin Algus (1973) is an actor, translator, playwright, and copywriter; he has translated nearly thirty plays from mostly English and Russian and has been awarded the Kurtna Prize for Translation of the Estonian Theatre Union. He has won the drama competition of the Estonian Theatre Agency three times and also won the international drama competition New Baltic Drama 2011.
Ingomar Vihmar (1970) has produced about thirty plays in various Estonian theatres; from 2006 he has been working at the Estonian Drama Theatre. The text of the play The Blossoming was born from co-operation with his longtime friend the writer Martin Algus; both were also production designers.
