Self-Help Book, directed by Tiit Ojasoo, will be performed in Tartu as part of the DRAAMA Festival main programme. International audiences can experience the production on 10 September with English simultaneous translation.
The Estonian Drama Theatre’s production Self-Help Book („Eneseabiõpik“) will be performed in Tartu as part of the main programme of DRAAMA Festival 2026. The performances will take place at the Vanemuine Theatre’s small house on 9 and 10 September.
The performance on 10 September at 19:00 will be accessible to international audiences with English simultaneous translation.
Self-Help Book is one of the 13 productions selected for this year’s DRAAMA main programme, which offers a cross-section of some of the most outstanding works in contemporary Estonian theatre. The programme highlights the diversity, boldness and international relevance of the current Estonian theatre scene, bringing together very different theatrical forms and authorial voices.
The festival will also welcome international guests, as the Estonian contemporary performing arts showcase takes place during the festival week in Tallinn and Tartu. As part of this, curators of international festivals and programme directors of foreign theatres will gather in Estonia. Almost all productions in the festival programme will be translated into English, allowing international theatre professionals and audiences to take part in the festival.
Directed by Tiit Ojasoo, Self-Help Book is a production about love, desire, intimacy and the human need for closeness. The production asks how desire and stability can coexist — and whether any manual, philosophy or set of instructions can really teach us how to live and love. Ten actors share the stage in a performance that moves between humour, intensity, ecstasy and melancholy. It is a work for those who have experienced both loss and longing, and who still believe that rational and sensitive human beings may be capable of being passionate and safe, unpredictable and ordinary, dangerous and tender at the same time.
Performances at DRAAMA Festival:
Wednesday, 9 September at 19:00
Thursday, 10 September at 19:00 — with English simultaneous translation
Vanemuine Theatre, small house, Tartu
Festival tickets go on sale on 15 June at 10:00 on the DRAAMA Festival website →