Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu stages a love musical about the adult characters of Lotte's world

The Vanemuine theatre in Tartu, Estonia, has prepared a new musical that extends the world of Lotte, one of the best-known series in Estonian children's literature. This time the focus is not on Lotte and her friends but on the adult residents of Inventors' Village. The musical is a love story with humour and unexpected twists.

The main characters are Dr Ave and Mihkel the hare. Their unexpected meeting turns into a story about feelings that cannot be controlled. Dr Ave is played by actress Nele-Liis Vaiksoo.

A new look at a familiar character

Vaiksoo told the ETV news programme "Aktuaalne kaamera" that audiences are used to seeing Dr Ave as a businesslike, composed and practical woman. In her view, the production lets viewers see for the first time how a person behaves when suddenly overcome by a feeling never experienced before, perhaps quite differently from what is expected of them.

Director Ain Mäeots believes the story's author, Janno Põldma, created one of the most brilliant and genuinely beautiful love stories. He said love stories are often either too saccharine or end tragically, whereas this one is neither. Mäeots hopes the theatre has managed to achieve the same.

Although the musical is intended for a family audience, the director thinks it is nonetheless aimed at adults. He said he had not laughed so much at run-throughs in a long time, to the point of tears. In his view, rehearsals become more interesting each time, and the actors have begun to improvise; some of these moments have already appeared.

More complex music

The music in the new production is more varied than in earlier ones and in places more complex, because the musical contains a full opera section. Composer Priit Pajusaar said this lets the story be told in a new way and sets a very high bar for actors and vocalists. He called it the most difficult of all the Inventors' Village stories ever staged, but also the funniest.