Author: Everything good about Estonia has been taken from the Germans

On Friday (June 11), Hendrik Toompere's production "Talupojad tantsivad prillid ees", written by Andrus Kivirähk, will premiere in Viinistu Boiler House. In an interview with ERR, Kivirähk said that he had not written a so-called pure comedy for a long time.
Kivirähk stressed that the original idea came from Hendrik Toompere. "He wanted to make a play about what Estonians have borrowed from the Germans through the ages," he said, adding that he was very interested in the idea and felt inspired quickly. "It was a lot of fun to write, I haven't written such a pure comedy in a long time."
"I was funny and we had a lot of fun in the rehearsals," he said, stressing that everything that is good in Estonia is basically taken from the Germans. "Starting with food and traditions, many words have also been borrowed from the German language," Kivirähk said mentioning that most Estonian intellectuals have also started by reading books, seeing paintings and finding inspiration in a manor. "We have taken a lot from the Germans and that is symbolized by the glasses on the noses, glasses as a symbol of civilization and German culture."
"We have become more like Germans, we are now more like the landowners than the Estonians who lived somewhere in a smoky farmyard," he said, adding that the play gives an opportunity to look back to our history with a smile and irony.
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Editor: Roberta Vaino