Performers

EISA JOCSON & VENURI PERERA
Magic Maids
/PHL-LKA/

Interweaving ritual performance, pageantry, and possession, “Magic Maids” is an encounter with two brooming figures engaged in the act of sweeping. The broom, a domestic cleaning tool and the vehicle of the witch, becomes an instrument for sweeping out into the open the patriarchal wounding of the feminine during the European witch-hunts and its complex deep entanglements with enduring extraction and exploitation of women’s labour in today’s global chain of migrant care and domestic work. The broom extends their bodies, an axis that transforms oppression into monstrous feminist resistance.

Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera are from the Philippines and Sri Lanka, countries known for their significant export of domestic workers. Their collaboration began in 2022 when they noticed the absence of women at Basel Museum of Pharmaceutical History in Switzerland. This observation sparked a deep dive into the historical persecution of witches in Europe and discovered that the last woman to be executed for witchcraft in 1782 Europe, was a Swiss housemaid named Anna Göldi.

Both female figures, “the witch” and “the maid”, are part of the same matrix – powerful and powerless, feared and revered, used, accused and discarded. The tropes are not mere hearsay and history but deeply rooted in today’s psyche. Jocson and Perera have heard, read and listened to horror stories of migrant domestic workers from the so-called Global South, the echoes of which now haunt their bodies.

Within “Magic Maids”, sweeping transforms into a profound act of bodily inquiry, into questions of representation, political subjecthood, gendered labour, and histories of violence. Jocson and Perera channel practices of incantation and intention, using their brooming bodies to traverse interconnected territories—physical, conceptual, emotional, and transnational.The artist's ongoing practice of creating together seeks to sweep out and unsettle oppressive power structures.

“Magic Maids” invites audiences to reflect on the in/visibility of working bodies, the resilience of female solidarity, and the enduring scars of historical injustices that shape contemporary labour practices. The brooming duo dances to rewild the domesticated feminine, performing a ritual of disobedience that dismantles the dominant narrative we live in.

Duration: 1 h 30 min, without interval
Language: English
Subtitles: Estonian
Note on sensory stimuli: use of ginger, salt, turmeric and chilli powder

Performances:
Wed, 1.07 at 21.00 in Rahu hall (BUY TICKET, ticket sale starts at 15th of April at 12.00)
Thu, 2.07 at 19.00 in Rahu hall (BUY TICKET, ticket sale starts at 15th of April at 12.00)

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Eisa Jocson is an interdisciplinary artist based in La Union, Philippines. Trained as a visual artist with a background in ballet, she came to contemporary dance through pole dancing. In her works, she explores body politics in the service and entertainment industry as seen through the socioeconomic lens of the Philippines. She studies how the body moves and what conditions make it move – be it social mobility or movement out of the Philippines through migrant work. In her creations, from ‘Death of the Pole Dancer’ to ‘Macho Dancer’ to ‘Host’ to ‘Princess’ to ‘Superwoman Band’ and ‘Manila Zoo’ – capital is the driving force of movement pushing the indentured body into ‘developed’ geographies. She regularly presents her pieces at renowned theatres and international festivals in Asia and Europe, such as Tanz im August, TPAM Yokohama, Zürcher Theaterspektakel and Frankfurter
Positionen. She is a recipient of the 2018 Cultural Centre of the Philippines 13 Artists Award, the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award 2019, the SeMa-HANA Award 2021 and the Tabori Award International 2023.

Venuri Perera is a choreographer, performance artist, curator and educator from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Exploring the power dynamics of visibility and opacity, she attempts to destabilise how we perceive the ‘other.’ Her solo and collaborative creations deal with violent nationalism, patriarchy, immigration, colonial heritage and class and were invited to festivals/biennales/symposia across Europe, South and East Asia, Middle East and Africa since 2008. She has closely collaborated with choreographers Geumhyung Jeong (SK) (Theatre Spektakel / Monsoon Australia), Natsuko Tezuka (JP) (Kyoto Experiment / SIFA Singapore). Venuri conceived and curated the projects of the Colombo Dance Platform (2015-2020, Goethe-Institut) and is committed to continue creating support networks for the independent dance scene in Sri Lanka. A graduate of DAS Theatre, she is currently based in Amsterdam.

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Concept, Creation, Dramaturgy, Performance: Eisa Jocson, Venuri Perera
Sound Design: Soraya Bonaventure
Light Design: Ariana Battaglia
Artistic Advice: Rasa Alksnyte, Tang Fu Kuen
Text Advice: Ruhanie Perera
Spiritual Advice: Nenet Ocson Babaylan-Vaigaland
Creative Presence: Arco Renz
Dramaturgical support: Anna Wagner, Alexandra Hennig
Production Advice: Sandro Lunin
Producer: Katja Armknecht, Anne Kleiner
Production Management: Greta Katharina Klein
Technical Production & Touring: Yap Seok Hui

"Magic Maids" by Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera is a production of Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, in co-production with Frascati Producties (supported by Ammodo), Tanzquartier Wien, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, SPRING Performing Arts Festival, Festival Theaterformen, DDD - Festival Dias da Dança, Kampnagel, Arsenic - Centre d’art scénique contemporain, La briqueterie CDCN du Val-de-Marne, Points Communs - nouvelle scène nationale Cergy-Pontoise / Val d’Oise, Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Funded as part of the Alliance of International Production Houses by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media and the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture.

This project was supported with residences by Kaserne Basel, Puón Institute Philippines, Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka, Dance Nucleus in collaboration with Studio Plesungan as part of ARTEFACT Creative Residency, and Colomboscope Contemporary Art Festival 2024.

With gratitude to the wonderful wise working women who generously shared their knowledge and stories with us.

MILO RAU
LA LETTRE
/SUI-FRA/

Milo Rau's production for the first time in Estonia!

Swiss director and playwright Milo Rau's "LA LETTRE" premiered at the Avignon Festival in 2025. The production intertwines personal stories with theater history and social issues. On stage are two actors – Arne De Tremerie and Olga Mouak – who talk about their family roots, childhood and journey to theater. Their stories combine the personal and historical dimensions and become a kind of reflection on what shapes a person's life and the path of an artist.

Milo Rau plays with the idea that a young artist is defined as much by his roles as by his family history, and in this scenic reflection explores the experiences that subtly alter the course of our lives: generational conflicts, political events, love and death. Light and humorous, LA LETTRE presents itself as a manifesto for what popular theatre can be today. From the story of Joan of Arc to Chekhov’s The Seagull, the performance unfolds on multiple levels, in a constant shift between art and life. Even the dead return to the stage thanks to recorded voices.

Milo Rau's work has only been seen at the Baltoscandal Festival and in Estonia in general in 2022, when his film "The New Gospel" was scheduled.

Duration: 75 min
Language: French
Subtitles: Estonian/English

Performances:
Wed, 1.07 at 19.00 in Big Hall (BUY TICKET)
Thu, 2.07 at 15.30 in Big Hall (BUY TICKET)

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Milo Rau, born 1977 in Bern, is the artistic director of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna. Critics call him the "most influential" (Die Zeit), "most interesting" (De Standaard), "most controversial" (La Repubblica), "most scandalous" (New York Times) or "most ambitious" (The Guardian) artist of our time. The director and author has published over 50 plays, films, books and actions. His theatre productions have been shown at all major international festivals, including the Berlin Theatertreffen, the Festival d'Avignon, the Venice Biennale, the Vienna Festival and the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels, and have been touring in over 30 countries worldwide. From 2018 to 2024 Milo Rau was Artistic Director of NTGent (Belgium).

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“With La Lettre, Milo Rau is led to a modest form, which proves to be a true little lesson in theater, as moving as it is enjoyable, intertwining reality and imagination with simplicity and mastery.”
– Fabienne Darge, Le Monde

 “Rau seeks catharsis from ancient tragedy. And although this play is lighthearted and funny, it does not escape the dictum that the author has imposed on himself for years: ‘It is not enough to represent the world. You have to change it.’ It is up to us to dare to face pain. To represent it. To offer it. As Arne and Olga do before the audience. A kind of mystical gift.”
– Fabienne Pascaud, Télérama

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Director: Milo Rau
Text: Milo Rau And The Ensemble
Performance: Arne De Tremerie, Olga Mouak and the voices of Isabelle Huppert, Anne Alvaro, Jocelyne Monier and Marijke Pinoy

Dramaturgy: Giacomo Bisordi
Stage, Sound, Light, Costumes, Props: Milo Rau, Giacomo Bisordi
Costume & Props Assistant: Julie Louvain
Production: Festival D’avignon

International Touring Team
Technical direction and lights: Sylvain Faye
Sound Sören Schwedler
Assistant Director and Subtitle Operator: Giacomo Bisordi, Edward Fortes
Tourmanagement Mascha Euchner-Martinez

Co-Productions: Éclat – Centre national des arts de la rue et de l’espace public (Aurillac), Théâtre de la Manufacture – Centre dramatique national Nancy Lorraine, Théâtre Silvia Monfort (Pariis), Théâtre public de Montreuil – Centre dramatique national, Théâtre du Champ au Roy – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national Art & Création (Guingamp), Le Canal Théâtre de Redon Agglomération – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national, CCAS Activités sociales de l’énergie, Scène 55 – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national Art & Création (Mougins), Théâtre Durance – Scène nationale (Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban), La Soufflerie – Scène conventionnée de Rezé

Thanks: Odeon – Theatre De L’europe (Paris), Stephane Braunschweig and The Ensemble Of The Seagull, Les Plateaux Sauvages (Paris), La Commune – Centre Dramatique National D’aubervilliers

JULIA MASLI
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
/EST-UK/
 

the blurb is

hahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahaha hihihi hahahahahahahaha hoho hahahhahahaha hehe hahahahahahahahahaha
 

Quotes and critical acclaim:

“Transcendent.”
— The New York Times

“Genius.”
★★★★★ — The Guardian

“A strange and beautiful masterpiece.”
★★★★★ — The Telegraph

“Sublime.” 
★★★★★ — Time Out

Duration: 90 min
Language: English

The show is in English, largely improvised, and completely different every night because it is based on audience participation.

Performances:
Sat, 4.07 at 22.00 in Peace Hall (sold out)
Sun, 5.07 at 18.00 in Peace Hall (BUY TICKET)

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JULIA MASLI  is an award-winning clown from Estonia, based in London. All she wants to do is solve people’s problems and eventually win the Nobel Prize, presented to those who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. But this plan keeps going wrong as she continually wins prizes for comedy. Her show ‘ha ha ha ha ha ha ha’ was nominated for Edinburgh's top prize of Best Comedy Show, the SKY Arts Best Comedy Award, the Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, two Helen Hayes Awards, and declared number one comedy show of the year by The Guardian—despite her serious intentions. The performances at the Baltoscandal festival are Julia's first in Estonia.

KIM NOBLE was a critically acclaimed artist and performer from London. He used to be quite good at stuff like theatre. He got an award. And he does some directing. The New York Times described him as “Annoying.” He participated in the Baltoscandal Festival in 2022 with his production “Lullaby for Scavengers”. He also performed his production “You’re Not Alone” at Kanuti Gildi SAAL in 2023. At this year’s Baltoscandal festival, he is also the dramaturg of Maike Londi’s production “My Mother’s Wealth, One Story and Three Ballads”. He is re-writing a book and recently had to move back into his mum’s flat due to financial difficulties.  www.mrkimnoble.com

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Creator and Performer: Julia Masli
Director: Kim Noble
Sound Designer and Composer: Alessio Festuccia
Live Sound Designer: Sebastián Hernández
Co-Lighting Designer: Jennifer Fok/E-hui
Original Lighting Design by: Lily Woodford
Live Lighting Designer: Sarah Chapin
Costume designers: Alice Wedge, Annika Thiems, David Curtis-Ring
Associate Producer, Production Manager, & Stage Manager: Sarah Chapin
Consulting Producers: Maria Manuela Goyanes, David C. Frederick & Sophia Lynn
Originating Producer: Impatient Productions

Generous support for the ha ha ha ha ha ha ha tour provided by David C. Frederick & Sophia Lynn.