Review: "A Hero of Our Time"

Based on the Russian classic of the same title by Mikhail Lermontov, Endla Theatre’s production "A Hero of Our Time"("Герой нашего времени") reached the public at the beginning of November last year. At the hands of the Latvian director Galina Polišuk, the timeless story has once again been blown to life.

„A Hero of Our Time“ is a story about a young, charismatic officer Petšorin who has lost all joy in life. Although he seems to have everything one would want from the world – the ladies, good looks,  fortune, social skills and contacts– Petšorin still fails to entertain himself. No woman nor life-threatening risk can bring up any emotions in the restless soul that resides in the young man’s body. The ultimate struggle is brilliantly portrayed by the talented Estonian actor Priit Loog, and together with his well-cast co-stars Kati Ong, Karin Tammaru and Tambet Seling, the stage is filled with lust, passion, heartbreak and betrayal.

Besides the great acting and obvious chemistry between the characters, the play also features some striking stage design. What might seem like a pile of trash at first sight turns out to be a mountain of clever artistic solutions, in my opinion. The scenic designer, Aigars Ozolinši, also visiting form Latvia, has found a compelling way to contribute to the portrayal of the mess in the main character’s head with his setting, which also proves to be very multi-functional throughout the play. To me, the whole technical production team has done a wonderful job – the music is spot-on, the costumes well-thought-out and the lighting quite nifty.

All in all, „A Hero of Our Time“ features on many different levels of art and binds them together in an entirety. If you enjoy good acting and metaphoric approaches, then this play is definitely something for you.  

Writing: Letter of Complaint

Dear Mrs Saar,

I am writing to draw your attention to some points of concern that I as a students have noticed in our school.

Whilst it is true that the students at Tallinn Secondary Science School are a quite small circle of chosen capable young people, I believe that this should not be used as an excuse to refer to them as being somewhat better than their peers in other schools. There have been a number of occasions where teachers note that one or the other thing should be self-explanatory to us as pupils of an ’elite’ school, or made remarks about not being ’elite-worthy’. Not only does it bring the students down but it may also promote elitarist attitude among them.

My second concern is the lack of flexibility in the school’s curriculum. In my opinion, the students should have the opportunity to choose more of their subjects in order to specialize in what actually interests them. The vast majority of young people attending secondary school have developed at least some understanding of where they are headed after graduating and therefore I believe that the school system should support their aspiration in different fields. The fact is that disinterest in subjects causes lack of motivation which, in turn, can lead to lower attendance and worse academic results.

All in all, I believe that flexibility and making a point of belonging to the elite are some areas of improvement in Tallinn Secondary Science School. For one thing, I would ask you to let go of the term ’elite’. As for improving the curriculum, might I suggest making subjects such as arts, music and physical education optional? The fact is that not everybody is interested in them or, on the contrary, there are those who exercise them regularly outside from school and therefore get no use form the courses.

Yours sincerely,

Hanna Maria Saik

Vocabulary Extension: Phrasal Verbs

HM