Take off your clothes, show a bank account or just listen? An Estonian artist in Riga is creating a project about people’s memories

What do you think – what should I do so that you will remember me for the rest of my life? Barbara Lehtna, a theater maker from Estonia, asked such a question to more than 60 interlocutors in her study. All this year, she has been chatting on the Internet with strangers from different countries, researching ethical and border issues. But Lehtna spent the last month in a residence at the Gertrudes Street Theater in Riga, where her presentation of the research in the stage language. –

Barbara Lehtna has been working in the world of theater for more than six years. She entered it through dance and physical theater, but did not associate herself with any separate genre of performing arts.

Barbara Lehtna describes herself in English as a “theater maker” or a “theater creator”, admitting that she does not have a really good translation in Estonian. There is also no exact term in Latvian, but the idea is clear – the artist herself searches for stories, conducts research and transfers them to the stage language. Interest in such topics as ethics, personal memories and experience stories has brought Lehtna to Riga and the project “Who will remember me in the end?”.

“I posted an ad on the Internet, inviting people to an hour-long conversation on the subject. On the Skype and Zoom platforms, I met people from all over the world and asked: what should I do during this lesson so that you will remember me for the rest of my life? ” tells the artist.

After more than 60 hours of conversation, Lehtna admits that there are really no limits to people’s imaginations. She has done almost everything.

“There were people who just wanted to speak – they were very sad and even injured. And it was important to me as a researcher, because this is where ethical questions begin: what can I do as a theater maker? Maybe these people should not take part in such a project, but rather seek professional help?

But I have also met extremely cheerful people who have wanted to see me naked (and saw), look at my bank account (and looked), sing and dance with me – that is what we did, ”says the artist.

Why was she ready to do something like that? The artist answers: this study is not only about ethics for the participants of the show, but also about the ethical limits of oneself.

“This is an autobiographical work, at least in part. And as a researcher, you have to feel the limit where your work starts to become unethical, ”explains the artist. “That’s why I had to try out the most comfortable situations. In a way, it’s also a game of power with the audience: if they have enough nausea to ask me to undress, then I’ll have enough nausea to do it! After all, it’s just a naked body. If they have the guts to ask to look in my bank account – well, please! What’s next? It is very interesting – how much of this work do I create myself and how many – my interlocutors? The answer is somewhere in the middle. ”

Barbara Lehtna also continued these talks at her residence in Riga, now meeting people in person. The theater admits that the interest in participating has been unexpectedly high. The question of who and how will remember us at the end of life concerns many. For Barbara, this is important in both a personal and a broader historical context.

“I am missing information about my family history. I know that my grandmother’s parents were deported, but I do not know the details. It made me think more about inheritance – what and if anything remains after us? Both Estonians and Latvians know well what it is like if someone else intervenes from the outside and decides that one generation of people will be forgotten, ”notes Lehtna.

But what, after all, is the common denominator that unites all Lehtna’s conversations? So one thing, why do we stay in other people’s memory – maybe for the rest of our lives?

The artist says: “I think it is empathy. If you feel empathy, then you also remember this person. He tells you about the saddest or happiest day of his life, and you also remember your own … I have been asked – do I remember all the people I have talked to during this project? I would like to say yes, but of course I remember more of those who managed to disarm me.

I remember those who shocked me, although it is difficult to do. They were shocked by radical openness and honesty. Yes, the key word is empathy. ”

Barbara Lehtna is the first artist to take part in the new residency program of Gertrudes Street Theater this summer for theater professionals who have recently started their careers and are still looking for their way on stage. The only rule is to get to know and get involved in the local art landscape, thus promoting new contacts and exchange of ideas, says Evija Sedola, project manager of Gertrudes Street Theater.

“It’s like plowing the ground and letting in air to make the ground more fertile. These are new milestones, new collaborations, the fruits of which we will not see tomorrow or tomorrow. We hope to collaborate with local artists as well, but it depends on both the resident artists and the surrounding conditions, ”explains Sedola.

It should be noted that the Gertrudes Street Theater is developing the new residency program in the off-season with the support of Norden’s Nordic-Baltic mobility program Culture.

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