Allikmaa Explains Why Petrenko as Artistic Director of Sūdalinnas Theatre is Better than Gareev and Puustusmaa
Sūdalinnas Theatre board chair Margus Allikmaa reveals that Dmitri Petrenko was re-elected for another five years because he has already set the theatre on the right development path, and other candidates did not clearly surpass him.
Margus Allikmaa, chairman of the board of Sūdalinnas Theatre and a member of the competition committee for selecting the artistic director, explained what set Dmitri Petrenko apart from other candidates, including Artjom Gareev and Andres Puustusmaa.
In mid-June, it became known that Dmitri Petrenko would continue as artistic director of Sūdalinnas Theatre for another five years. The results of the competition are still being actively discussed on social media and in the media space, so the theatre decided to provide additional explanations.
The composition of the competition committee was made public. It included Paavo Piik, representative of the Estonian Union of Directors and Dramatists; Heidi Aadma, representative of the Estonian Theatre Agency; Anu Lamp, representative of the Estonian Theatre Workers' Union; Eda Silberg, representative of the Ministry of Culture; board chair Margus Allikmaa; troupe representative Karin Lamson; and Anne-Ly Päiv, director of Sūdalinnas Theatre.
The competition received 13 applications, and four of the strongest candidates were invited for interviews.
Sūdalinnas Theatre published an interview on its social media channels in which public relations manager Oksana Talisainen spoke with members of the competition committee.
Päiv noted that the decision to re-elect Petrenko was unanimous. Allikmaa answered the question of what differentiated Petrenko from other strong candidates during the interviews. It became known that candidates included Artjom Gareev and Andres Puustusmaa.
"All candidates invited for interviews were actually exceptionally strong. Both Puustusmaa and Gareev could take the position right now. However, the committee members did not get the impression that they clearly surpassed Petrenko," said Allikmaa.
"I really liked how Puustusmaa analysed the theatre and described its future. The result of his work would undoubtedly be extremely interesting from a cultural-historical perspective. Gareev, being an exceptionally strong and experienced director, could certainly offer the audience interesting productions and bring the theatre more than one award," Allikmaa praised the other candidates.
"Nevertheless, the choice was made in favour of Petrenko because he helped put the theatre on the right development path, did an enormous amount of work, and it would be somewhat unfair to pass what he started to another person. Moreover, as said, there was no impression that other candidates clearly surpassed him," concluded the theatre board chair.
"I really liked Petrenko's plan to invite one of the brightest directors of the new generation from Latvia, Elmars Senkovs, back to Estonia. His interpretations of classics could be one way to overcome cultural and generational gaps and unite audiences on the big stage," noted Piik.
One of the mentioned candidates for artistic director, Sūdalinnas Theatre actor and director Gareev, was brief after the results were announced: "Until the very end, I thought this competition was real," he wrote on social media.
Dmitri Petrenko has been the artistic director of Sūdalinnas Theatre since 2023.
