Translated by Toomas Kall
Adaption and directed by Adolf Shapiro (Moscow)
Set designer: Andris Freibergs (Riga)
Costumes:Kristine Pasternaka (Riga)
Lighting: Gleb Filshtinsky (St. Petersburg)
Musical landscape by Riina Roose.
The cast: Marko Matvere, Indrek Sammul, Lembit Peterson, Aleksander Eelmaa , Külli Teetamm or Evelin Pang, Epp Eespäev, Hele Kõre, Anne Reemann, Aarne Üksküla, Rain Simmul, Piret Kalda and Allan Noormets.
Fathers and Sons is Adolf Shapiro's sensitive and faithful adaptation of Turgenev's best known and best loved novel. The production treats the topic of different generations in two senses. First the characters - there are the fathers who try to preserve old values and keep alive the traditions, and the sons who attempt to find new ways of life and who deny the social values of the epoch. Two different generations can also be seen on stage - there are Aarne Üksküla, Lembit Peterson and Mikk Mikiver, top actors of the older generation, and Marko Matvere and Indrek Sammul, young rising stars.
The story takes place in 19th century Russia, where new the ideologies of conservative "slavophiles" and modern "westerners" clashed violently. Despite the historical complexity the message of Shapiro's production is simple - life is more important than any ideas or ideologies.
For Fathers and Sons Adolf Shapiro was awarded the Annual Prize of Cultural Endowment of Estonia 2002 and the Annual Theatre Award of Estonia in 2003.