Endla Theatre's "amletH" is a three-and-a-half-hour light and laser spectacle

Endla Theatre's new production "amletH" premiered on 13 June at Küünis and is an unconventional interpretation of the Hamlet story by Ott Kilusk and Kaili Viidas, weaving together elements from Saxo Grammaticus and Shakespeare. According to the critic, the production's greatest strength lies in its visual design, the lighting and laser work by Iir Hermeliini, Ivar Piterskihi and Argo Valdmaa, but the placement of the audience on a gallery restricts the actors' expressiveness.

Endla Theatre's new production "amletH" premiered on 13 June 2026 at Küünis, directed by Kaili Viidas with dramaturgical work by Ott Kilusk. The three-and-a-half-hour performance weaves together Saxo Grammaticus's saga of Amleth and William Shakespeare's celebrated tragedy, giving the familiar story a new shape, though perhaps not quite as the audience might expect.

A familiar story, new motives

The main characters are all present: Prince Hamlet, Queen Gertrude, Ophelia and the notorious "to be or not to be". Kilusk and Viidas give Gertrude a new motive for her union with her husband's brother, a forced marriage to a violent king. This would cast the story's main thread, revenge for the father's murder, in a new light and open up intriguing questions about Hamlet's mental disturbances, Claudius's remorse and the character of Gertrude. Yet these possibilities remain largely unexploited in the production.

A similar feeling arises with Ophelia's storyline. The programme notes reference Saxo Grammaticus's Amleth, who does not hesitate to kill for his ends, and there are hints of this in "amletH"'s protagonist as well. If Ophelia's madness and suicide were more clearly rooted in the betrayal of love and the collapse of hopes, along with the tragic choice between a man like Hamlet and the real world, her storyline would become even more powerful.

Visual pleasure as the production's backbone

The undeniable best aspect of the production is the visual. The effects created in collaboration between designer Iir Hermeliini, lighting designer Ivar Piterskihi, video designer Antti Aalmaa and laser designer Argo Valdmaa are impressive. One might question, however, whether the railway tracks running between bare trees do not evoke too many other historical associations, deportations or the rails of Auschwitz-Birkenau, especially since the production itself does not particularly support a political interpretation.

Sten Karpov embodies Hamlet. In an interview with ERR, he has acknowledged that he has not yet fully come to terms with Hamlet. Nevertheless, he handles the role's creation well within the existing constraints, and in the opening baptism scene, where Hamlet lies helpless and passively allows himself to be attended to, he is convincing.

The gallery view constrains the actor

At Endla Küünis, the audience is placed on a gallery overlooking the action on the floor below. Kaili Viidas has justified this by saying that "it gives the audience the right to look down on what is happening, which in turn creates a sense that I am responsible for what I do in life. It gives me a godly position where I see but do not intervene." In the critic's view, the real reason is more practical: the laser and light show achieves its best effect when viewed from above.

Unfortunately, this solution comes at a high price. For three and a half hours, the audience watches mainly the actors' heads, which are moreover covered with thick wigs. Even in face-to-face scenes, high metal railings obscure the view. The actors have worked hard on their roles and their lines, but the stage design does not allow them to shine in full.

Ultimately, "amletH" leaves the impression of an elaborate light and laser show with accompanying audio theatre, entertaining and at times beautiful, but falling far short of the profound dramatic experience the material could have offered.