Valgusaed

A performance as an embrace. Or like a grandmother’s lap, with room for everyone. The performance joined the repertoire through the 2026/2027 open call and is being created as a co-production by Tartu Uus Teater and Big Wolf Company.

Valgusaed is created by light and its absence: shifts and reflections of light as hands, eyes, plants, words and stories cross its path. People full of stories. Full of wishes. Full of gentleness and toughness. The central mediums of Valgusaed are aerial acrobatics, storytelling and projections.

Valgusaed is a fairytale-like place that probes the limits of possibility. But instead of remaining distant spectators, the audience lands right in the middle of this world. Light flows into the villagers’ warm palms and, drop by drop, into their inner selves. They fall into the story. Through light and shadows, they too become storytellers. And the house answers back.

“This performance is our response to the chaos of the world. We believe that sometimes we need to step outward into a space that is so cosy, warm and safe that we can find those same qualities within ourselves.”

An important starting point in creating this work has been sensory hypersensitivity, and the aim of making something gentle, slow and caring—especially in a world that generously treats people to overstimulation.

Author-performer: Grete Gross (EE)
Co-author: Elisa Kundi-Matvejeva (LV)
Storyteller and props: Krõõt Saar (EE), Eva Maria Aru (EE)
Lighting and video designer: Paulius Jakubenas (LT)

Supporters: Eesti Kultuurkapital, Tartu Linn, Riia Tsirkus, Visaginase Kultuurikeskus, Põlva Kultuurikeskus

Premiere: 12 August 2026, Tartu Uue Teater’s main hall

Further information:
Suitable for ages 5 and up.
Capacity: up to 40 people per performance.
Duration: up to 1 hour 30 minutes, no interval.

The performance begins with a walk that culminates in Uue Teater’s hall. In the hall, the audience will be without shoes; at times, they will experience the performance sitting or lying on the floor.

Please pay attention to the performance’s start time and location:
Daytime performance: starts at 16:00 outside Tartu Uus Teater, on Lai Street.
Evening performance: starts at 22:30 at the Kroonuaia gate of the University of Tartu Botanical Garden, on Kroonuaia Street.
Entry through the gates is 10 minutes before the performance. Latecomers cannot join the walk. The Kroonuaia gate is up to a 10-minute walk from the theatre building.

Changes may be made in case of bad weather, so please check the pre-performance information.

Performance website
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