Paldiski-based Marina Yevseyeva runs a one-woman puppet theatre, from winter fairy tales to punk horror

The Draakonipesa ("Dragon's Nest") theatre centre in Tallinn hosts several companies, among them the Mini-teater, which has only two members: actress and director Marina Yevseyeva from Paldiski and her husband Anton. The story was reported by the Russian-language service of Estonian public broadcaster ERR, citing the programme "Aktuaalne kaamera +". Despite its name, the theatre's repertoire is varied, ranging from gentle children's fairy tales to stories for adults.

Yevseyeva devises the productions herself, makes the puppets, designs the stage and plays every role, while her husband handles lighting and sound. She trained as a drama theatre director, studying in Penza and then at the Moscow State University of Culture. She moved to Estonia in 2011 after getting married. Her interest in puppetry goes back to childhood, when she saw the Moscow theatre "Ten" (Shadow) on television, with its very small puppets.

Fairy tales for children

In the shows "It Snowed, Stars Fell" and "About Africa", small felt marionettes come to life among the sets, and the emphasis is on atmosphere rather than scale. The director says the secrets of creativity are hard to explain: one has to immerse oneself in the subject, think about it a great deal and bring music, puppet and set together, otherwise the result feels mechanical. For slightly older children there is "The Black Hen", based on a story by Antony Pogorelsky. It is a free retelling about the hen's tragedy after being betrayed by her best friend.

The show "A Pie for Grandma"

This year Yevseyeva created a production that is not for children at all. She first planned a funny show about a man haunted everywhere by memories of his grandmother, but the comedy gradually turned into a dark story about childhood trauma, grievances and domestic violence. The inspiration was a show by Tallinn psychologist Lena Laine, based on her personal diaries. The main character is an accomplished adult woman who, decades later, cannot forgive her grandmother. The director calls the genre eccentric black clowning, and in places it could also be described as horror clowning or punk horror. In her words, the idea is that violence breeds violence.