Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n stage, voice and film actor.
Early life and studies
Risto Kübar was born in the small borough of
Kose
Kose is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Harju County, 39 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Tallinn, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Kose Parish and lies next to Pirita River.
At the 2011 Census, the settlement's population wa ...
. His older brother is sidecar motorcross racer Silver Kübar. He attended Kose Secondary School from 1990 until 1999, followed by studies at the
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
Old Town Educational College (VHK), graduating in 2002. After graduation from VHK he was accepted to the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art (now, the
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...
) where he studied in courses under the tutelage of actor and teacher Priit Pedajas, graduating in 2006. Among his graduating classmates were
Inga Salurand
Inga Salurand (born 1 August 1983) is an Estonian stage, film, and television actress whose career began in the mid-2000s.
Early life and education
Inga Salurand was born and raised in Tartu, where she attended primary and secondary schools. In ...
Ursula Ratasepp
Ursula Ratasepp (born 17 June 1982) is an Estonian stage, film and television actress.
Early life and education
Ursula Ratasepp was born in Tallinn in 1982. She is the older sister of actress Katariina Ratasepp (born 1986). She studied drama at ...
Sergo Vares
Sergo Vares (born on 14 September 1982 in Rakvere) is an Estonian actor.
Vares graduated from Rakvere Gymnasium in 2001. In 2002, he enrolled at the University of Tartu to study journalism, but left to study acting at the Estonian Academy of Musi ...
.
Theatre
While still a student, Risto Kübar made his stage debut at
Estonian Drama Theatre
The Estonian Drama Theatre ( et, Eesti Draamateater) is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door.
History
The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was or ...
in ''Finis nihili'', a play written by
Madis Kõiv
Madis Kõiv (5 December 1929, Tartu, Estonia – 24 September 2014, Tartu, Estonia) was an Estonian writer, philosopher and physicist.
Education
Kõiv attended school in Tartu after the second World War, graduating in the early 1950s with a d ...
. This was followed by a role in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
Theatre NO99
Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019.
The theatre's name ...
in Tallinn, where he made his debut in Anton Chekhov's ''
The Cherry Orchard
''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...
''. Kübar has also performed at the
Tallinn City Theatre
Tallinn City Theatre ( et, Tallinna Linnateater) is a repertory theatre located in the medieval old town of Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn City Theatre was established in 1965 as Estonian SSR State Youth Theatre. In 1992, after the reindependence of ...
Animal Farm
''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to c ...
'', and the
Vanemuine
Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre.
History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.''
On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...
theatre in Tartu, where he played the role of guitarist Jaanus Nõgisto in the rock opera ''
Ruja
Ruja was one of the foremost Estonian rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s. The name of the band comes from a neologism "ruja", for science fiction, though there are people who believe that "ruja" is actually made up of the first letters of the b ...
'' in 2008; a production based on the Estonian rock band of the same name.
He was engaged at Theatre NO99 until 2014; where he was also involved in the international co-production ''Three Kingdoms'' by
Simon Stephens
Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...
(directed by Sebastian Nübling). For his performance in ''Orpheus Descends'' by
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
(directed by Sebastian Nübling), Kübar was voted Young Actor of the Year 2013 by the professional journal Theater Heute. Both productions took him to the Munchner Kammerspiele, where he became a member of the ensemble from 2014 to 2015, under the direction of intendant
Johan Simons
Johan Simons (born 1 September 1946) is a Dutch theatre director.
Simons received his education at the Rotterdam Dance Academy and the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. He also taught directing in Maastricht for a number of years.
Since 200 ...
.
From 2015 until 2018 Kübar was a member of the ensemble of the Belgian theatre . In 2016 he received an Arlecchino award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the
Tommy Wieringa
Tommy Wieringa (born 20 May 1967) is a Dutch writer.Tommy Wieringa
-penned and Philipp Becker-directed ''Dit zijn de namen''.
Kübar played also in ''Die Fremden'', a production of NTGent & Ruhrtriennale, directed by Johan Simons. On 2 September 2016 ''Die Fremden'' premiered in the Kohlenmischhalle of the Zeche Auguste Victoria in Marl as part of the Ruhrtriennale 2016. The premiere in Ghent took place on 21 September 2016 in the Floralies Hall.
On the first and second of October 2016, Kübar returned to the Theatre NO99 in a production of the play ''Spectacular Lightshows of Which U Don't See The Effect''. The two-man show, with Belgian actor Benny Claessens, caused some controversy for the amount of nudity and homosexual theme, but garnered positive reviews.
In February 2018, Kübar made with NTGent, director Florian Fischer and actress Lien Wildemeersch ''To name herstory''. An adaptation of 'Don Quixote: which was a dream' (1986) by Kathy Acker. The press called Kübar's idiosyncratic style perfect in its content, inventor of a new language that, despite its bizarre character, communicates immediately with the audience.
Since the 2018-2019 season he has been a member of the
Schauspielhaus Bochum
The Schauspielhaus Bochum is one of the notable drama theatres in Germany. It is located on Königsallee in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. Eric de Vroedt
Eric de Vroedt (Rotterdam, 1972) is a Dutch theater director, writer and actor.
Caree ...
ensemble, where he will appear in ''Die Jüdin von Toledo'' by Johan Simons and in the co-production with NTGent ''Orestes in Mosul'' by Milo Rau.
Film
Risto Kübar made his film debut as a voice actor in the 2006 animated short film ''Maraton'' for Eesti Joonisfilm. He followed this as a voice extra in the feature-length Heiki Ernits and Janno Põldma-directed Estonian animated children's film '' Leiutajateküla Lotte'' (English: ''Lotte from Gadgetville''). His most prominent film role to date was a starring role in the 2011 Rainer Sarnet-directed '' Idioot''; an adaptation of
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
's ''
The Idiot
''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69.
The title is an ...
''.
Personal life
On 6 October 2014, Risto Kübar penned an
open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
addressed to Estonian lawyer Varro Vooglaid, who is the foundation chairman of SA Family and Defense of Tradition (SAPTK) ( Estonian: ''Perekonna ja Traditsiooni Kaitseks''). The letter, printed in the daily Estonian newspaper ''
Postimees
''Postimees'' () is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 ...
'', was a personal and public appeal that took aim at Vooglaid's anti-gay sentiments and opposition towards the gender-neutral civil partnership law passed by the Estonian Parliament; a ''cohabitation agreement'' that gives the same legal protections to same-sex couples that are available to opposite-sex couples. In the letter, Kübar publicly
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
, making him one of the first well-known Estonian celebrities to do so.
Acknowledgements
*
Voldemar Panso
Voldemar Panso (30 November 1920 Tomsk, Russia – 27 December 1977 Tallinn) was Estonian stage director, actor and theatrical teacher.
1941 he graduated from Tallinn Conservatory State Stage Art School and 1955 Moscow State Theatre Art Instit ...
award (2004)
* Kristallkingake award (Adolf Rühka, ''Adolf Rühka lühikene elu'') (2006)
* Estonian Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor (The Trickster, ''Three Kingdoms'') (2011)
* Estonian Cultural Endowment of the Arts (2013)
* Theatre Heute Young Actor of the Year (2013)Hau: Hebbel am Ufer Retrieved 25 November 2016.
* Arlecchino for Best Male Actor (''Dit zijn de namen'') (2016)