According to main organizer Maarja Kalmre, Ümberlülitus is not a thematic festival, but instead a collection of productions that all stand out and are particularly well-suited to Tartu.

"They are certainly united by different keywords [and there are] a lot of intimate performances, but at the same time [ there are] powerful performers and a lot of different locations. Delline Tartu has a sense of homeliness in some of the productions, but there is still quite a lot of vigor and madness," said Kalmre.

The festival began on Tuesday, May 21, with "Aunt Õie's 65th Birthday" by Urmas Lüüs, offering some domestic and grotesque. This party is followed by Harald Beharie´s provocatively queer "Batty Bwoy," which has been previously presented at numerous European performing arts festivals.

"I was interested in the narrative that hides itself in language, specifically homophobic language," Beharie told ERR. "There is a lot of violence and absurdity at the same time, which makes the body fictional in this language. I'm looking into this fear that the queer body is somehow dangerous."

"Growing from the forceful, to the intense, to the provocative and intimate, yet combative, the arc of where it starts and where it grows is really compelling to me," Kalmre added.

The Ümberlülitus performing arts festival takes place in several venues around Tartu until May 25.

More information is available here.

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