Salong-Teater, founded in 1994, is one of the oldest private theatres in Estonia. The company developed from the children theatre Tallinna Lasteteater Trumm (created in 1992). The founder and artistic director of the theatre is Dajan Ahmet. During the first years of existence theatre hosted a studio in order to educate actors for the company. Currently the company includes 10 actors, 2 resident stage directors. The theatre has in Tallinn a black-box hall with 50 seats. Most of the performances are given on touring in cities all over Estonia.
The early directions included along with the young students well-known actors from state theatres. During the years the focus has been on educating for the theatre its resident actors. A lot of work has been done by two stage directors, Dajan Ahmet and Erki Aule. The direction is from the repertory-theatre towards the project-theatre.
Often the dramaturgy of the directions is created by the troup, through improvisation. The children theatre has its own style — communication with the audience, rhytmical movements, and live music created for the direction. The performances can be adjusted to different stages including open-air.
Improvisation on stage means that after the premiere the dialogues can change depending on the reaction of the audience. This makes the characters alive and interesting unregarding whether the drama was written in middle ages or in modern world. In every performance something new can be born which is attractive both for audience and the actors.
Every year one play for grown-ups and two for children are staged. The repertory includes classical dramaturgy, played both on small stages (in chamber style) and large stages.
"The School for Women" by Moliere
"The Cat Game" by I.Örkeny
“My Poor Marat” by A.Arbuzov
"The Laughter of a Langust" by J.Murrell
“Mother Courage and her Children” by B.Brecht
"The Teacher of Dance" by L.deVega
“Three Sisters” by A.Tshekhov
“Jevgeni Onegin” by A.Pushkin
“Decameron” of G.Boccaccio
“Richard the Third” by Shakespeare
and Estonian classical drama.
“Aesop”, the playful stories from Antiquity based upon legends about the life and fables of Aesop
The theatre has visited Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia and has taken part in theatre festivals both in Estonia and abroad.
Awards:
"The School for Women", Moliere (directed by Dajan Ahmet)
prize in the festival for alternative theatres The Little Napoleon in 1997 (Estonia).
"Musicians of Bremen" (directed by Erki Aule)
prize for best troup work in the ASSITEJ Children Theatres` Festival Banaanikala 1997 (Estonia).
“The Brave Firemen” (directed by Erki Aule)
prize at the international theatre festival in Vilnius 2002 (Lithuania).
“Jevgeni Onegin”, Alexander Pushkin (directed by Erki Aule)
prize for modern interpretation of classics in the International Festival of Alternative Theatre in Roznava, Slovakia 2002.
“Tin Soldier”, H.Chr. Andersen (directed by Erki Aule)
prize of the children jury in the ASSITEJ Children Theatres` Festival Banaanikala 2003 (Estonia).
prize of the grown-ups jury in the ASSITEJ Children Theatres` Festival Banaanikala 2003 (Estonia).
