Theatre NO99 stands on the corner as a classic, square brown building with tall columns, wide windows, and bright pink banners-look for the building half-hidden behind a towering leafy tree near the crossroads.
Welcome to Theatre NO99, a place where the spirit of creativity used to burst out almost as dramatically as the shows themselves! Imagine you’re standing right now where actors once gathered, hearts pounding, waiting for the curtain to rise. The building looks a bit formal, but don’t let the stately columns fool you-inside, Theatre NO99 was more unpredictable than an actor’s dream journal.
It all started in 2005, when this space transformed almost overnight into a playground for Tallinn’s boldest theatre-makers. Led by Tiit Ojasoo and Ene-Liis Semper, the theatre assembled a crack team of 10 actors-eight men, two women-who were determined to light up Estonia’s cultural scene. And just between us, there was always a whiff of mischief in the air. The name ‘NO99’ is a riddle itself; “NO” isn’t for dramatic effect, it just means “Number.” And the number 99? After each production, it ticked down by one. So, the first show was NO99, the second was NO98, and so on-like a creative countdown to who knows what. Maybe a theatrical doomsday, or just a director’s way of never running out of new beginnings.
The shows weren’t your run-of-the-mill plays, either. One minute you’d be sitting in the grand upstairs hall watching a fierce drama based on Chekhov or Shakespeare, the next you’d find yourself lured into a wild adaptation inspired by film legends like Kurosawa or Tarkovski. Even the scripts were often homegrown, composed right here by directors and actors in a creative stew that sometimes boiled over into passionate arguments and laughter.
If you’d wandered in on a summer evening, you might have discovered a performance in the most unlikely place-a drained swimming pool for a samurai epic or three abandoned airplane hangars serving as the stage for “King Ubu.” And if the weather was right, beware! You might have stumbled into one of their legendary “actions”-one-time events so madcap that even the cast wasn’t always sure they’d pull it off. Theatre NO99 always pressed up against the limits of what theatre could be. Some nights the actors might go toe-to-toe about artistic vision, with real tension thickening the backstage air. But don’t worry; after the dust settled, they’d still band together for the next piece of theatrical wizardry.
NO99’s magic didn’t stay hidden in Tallinn for long. Shows, stage design, and even the actors themselves began winning awards at home and abroad. Audiences clapped and cheered for their efforts at festivals in Vienna, Berlin, Moscow, and beyond. Their boldness was finally recognized in 2017, when they snagged the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in Rome-a fancy way of saying “You shook things up!”
And just so you know, the theatre not only dazzled on stage, but also ran a jazz lounge and one of Tallinn’s best hidden restaurants. Not bad for a place that thrived on mayhem and ideas. Today, even though Theatre NO99 closed in 2019, its legend lingers. You’re standing on the threshold of what was really a creative rollercoaster. If you listen closely, you might just hear the echoes of applause, the hushed excitement, and the spirit of possibility still swirling in the air. Now, ready for your next stop? Let’s keep this theatrical stroll going!
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