Vaba Lava seeks additional €250,000 to keep Narva theater open
Estonian independent theater Vaba Lava is considering closing down its Narva location, saying current state funding is not enough to run it sustainably.
Vaba Lava receives more than €300,000 a year from the state for theater activities, but says that is no longer enough to produce Estonian-language theater in Narva.
The largely Russian-speaking border city requires translated performances, carefully selected repertoire and drastically lower ticket prices, even as its district heating costs soar as the highest in Estonia. The theater says the current funding model does not account for any of these factors.
"They tell us we're so very needed, that we're doing incredibly important work, but then there's essentially no follow-through," said Vaba Lava founder and director Märt Meos, adding that in his role, he can no longer take on that kind of five-year commitment.
"At this level of funding, we can no longer continue the contract," Meos added.
The Ministry of Culture acknowledges the importance of Vaba Lava's presence in Estonia's third-largest city, which has no state theater. Earlier plans to establish a joint foundation with the state fell through, however, leaving Vaba Lava to compete for operating grants.
Marie Anett Heinsalu, a theater adviser at the ministry's Art Department, said not much else can be done about those grants.
"Unfortunately, there's really no other way around it; the application needs to score higher, and if there are fewer recipients, the amount of funding could also increase," Heinsalu explained, adding that neither the ministry nor the theater have any control over that.
Time to decide
Vaba Lava's lease for its Narva location expires next year, but a decision on extending it needs to be made this fall. The theater says it needs at least €250,000 more in state funding to stay in Narva.
"We have to make these plans a year or two ahead, and right now, we don't know whether we'll still be here on August 1, 2027," Meos said.
The ministry says any additional funding would ultimately require a political decision.
If the political commitment exists, Heinsalu said it may be possible to find additional funding for the Narva theater through other measures.
"But we can't do that until we know how state budget negotiations turn out," she added.
Estonia's 2027 state budget talks are expected to wrap up next week.
--
Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Aili Vahtla
