In the face of staggering funding cuts, Estonian theatre group NO99 use Joseph Beuys’ ironic 1965 ritual of explaining art, How to explain pictures to a dead hare, as a spring board for their extraordinary performance about political will and artistic desire. More

Detached and ironic in equal measure, Joseph Beuys celebrated a ritual of “explaining art” in his famous, almost mute performance/happening of 1965, How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare. In today’s crisis-riddled Estonia, the young ensemble of Theatre NO99 is beyond the ability to explain – rather, their extraordinary stage performance publicises the idea that there must be art, even if there is no money for it. This is bound to ruffle some feathers; after all, the surname of the Estonian Minister of Cultural Affairs translates as “hare”, and she must explain her compatriots why less and less money is available for culture. However, directors Tiit Ojasoo and Ene-Liis Semper have repeatedly affirmed that the character in the play making proclamations on cultural policy (and who also is female) was not inspired by the real-life Minister, and that the actors’ sallies against her are not to be taken personally – after all, artists always struggle for funding to be able to work. This fast-paced sequence of improvisations, video recordings, artistic actions and drama is an impassioned discourse on political will and artistic yearning and at the same time a divine moment for Beuys’ concept of art, whose core message – universal creativity – should spill over into all aspects of reality, and thus also to Festwochen audiences.

In 2008, Theatre NO99 presented their production Hot Estonian Guys at Wiener Festwochen.