Maila Rästas (born Maila Liivoja; 8 April 1937 – 19 April 2008) was an Estonian stage, film, and radio actress. Rästas was employed at

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () 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 originally built for the ...

in Tallinn from 1961 until 1992 before retiring. She also appeared in several films.

Early life and education

Maila Rästas was born Maila Liivoja in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

to Paul and Elfriede Vilhelmine Liivoja (''née'' Kasak). The family later relocated to the capital of Tallinn, where she graduated from Tallinn 7th Secondary School in 1955. Following secondary school, she enrolled in the Performing Arts Department of the Tallinn Conservatory (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 ...

) to study acting under direction of actor and theatre pedagogue

Voldemar Panso Voldemar Panso (30 November 1920 – 27 December 1977) was an Estonian stage and film actor, theatre director and pedagogue. Biography In 1941, he graduated from Tallinn Conservatory State Stage Art School and in 1955 the Moscow State Theatr ...

, graduating in 1961. Rästas' diploma production role was that of Isabel in

Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (17 January 160025 May 1681) (, ; ) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished Spanish Baroque literature, poets and ...

's '' The Phantom Lady''. Her graduating classmates included

Tõnu Aav Tõnu Aav (21 January 1939 – 14 August 2019) was an Estonian stage, film, TV, and radio actor. Aav was born in Tallinn and graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 1961. From 1961 he performed at the Estonian Drama Theatre in ...

Meeli Sööt Meeli Sööt (13 September 1937 – 16 March 2024) was an Estonian stage, television, radio and film actress. Early life and education Meeli Sööt was born Meeli Alev in Tallinn to actor Voldemar Alev and Alvine Alev (''née'' Väravas). In 19 ...

Mati Klooren Mati Klooren (31 July 1938 – 16 July 2000) was an Estonian actor and theatre director. Mati Klooren was born in Tallinn. His younger brother was actor Enn Klooren. In 1961, he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tallinn S ...

Mikk Mikiver Mikk Mikiver (4 September 1937 – 9 January 2006) was a prominent Estonian stage and film actor and theater director. Biography Mikiver was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He graduated from the State Conservatory of Tallinn in 1961. He then went ...

Ines Aru Ines Aru (born Ines Parker; 1 July 1939) is an Estonians, Estonian stage, radio, voice, television, and film actress whose career began in the early 1960s. Early life and education Ines Aru was born Ines Parker in Tallinn to Martin Johannes Parke ...

, Jaan Saul, Madis Ojamaa, and

Aarne Üksküla Aarne Üksküla (21 September 1937 Tallinn – 29 October 2017) was an Estonian film and stage actor and theatre instructor. In 1961 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory's Performing Arts Department. Career * Rakvere Theatre (1961–196 ...

Career

In 1961, shortly after graduation from the Tallinn Conservatory, Rästas began an engagement as an actress at the Estonian Drama Theatre in Tallinn which lasted until 1992, when she was laid off from the theatre. During her three decade-long engagement at the Estonian Drama Theatre she performed in numerous stage productions as an actress in works by such varied authors and playwrights as: Victor Rozov,

Juhan Liiv Juhan Liiv ( – ) is one of Estonia's most famous poets and prose writers. Childhood Juhan (birth name Johannes) Liiv, the son of Benjamin and Marianna Liiv (née Pärn), was born on 30 April 1864, in Alatskivi Parish (now Peipsiääre Par ...

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

Hugo Raudsepp Hugo Raudsepp (10 July 1883 – 15 September 1952) was an influential and prolific Estonian playwright and politician. Cody, Sprinchorn 2007, p. 428. In 1951 he was deported to the Irkutsk region by the Soviet authorities, where he died. Raun 200 ...

Ion Druță Ion Druță (3 September 1928 – 28 September 2023), also known as Ion Drutse, was a Moldovan writer, poet, playwright and literary historian. He was an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Ion Druță was born on 3 September 192 ...

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

Oskar Luts Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright. Biography Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...

Konstantin Trenyov Konstantin Andreyevich Trenyov (, – May 19, 1945) was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright, USSR State Prize laureate (1941), best known for his Russian Civil War history drama '' Lyubov Yarovaya'' (1926). File:Виталий Тренев � ...

Valentin Rasputin Valentin Grigoryevich Rasputin (; ; 15 March 193714 March 2015) was a Soviet and Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's works depict rootless urban characters and the fight for ...

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce (; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, diplomat, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which had an all-female cast. He ...

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (; born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois ch ...

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

, and

Werner Schwab Werner Schwab (4 February 1958 – 1 January 1994) was an Austrian playwright and visual artist. Biography From 1978 to 1982 he studied sculpture at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. During the 1980s he worked as a sculptor and woo ...

. Rästas' most critically acclaimed performances with the Estonian Drama Theatre were the roles of Tiina in

A. H. Tammsaare Anton Hansen (18 (O.S.)/30 January 1878 – 1 March 1940), better known by his pseudonym A. H. Tammsaare and its variants, was an Estonian writer whose pentalogy '' Truth and Justice'' (''Tõde ja õigus''; 1926–1933) is considered one of t ...

's ''Man and Man'' (1972), Natalia "Natasha" Ivanovna in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's '' Three Sisters'' (1973), and Magda in Jaan Kruusvall's ''In the Colors of Clouds'' (1983). In addition to roles in the theatre, Rästas also appeared in several films; her first was as the character Külliki in the 1960 Herbert Rappaport directed drama ''Vihmas ja päikeses'', released by Tallinna Kinostuudio (now,

Tallinnfilm Tallinnfilm () is the oldest surviving film studio in Estonia. It was founded as Estonian Culture Film in 1931, and was nationalized in 1940 after Estonia was integrated into the Soviet Union. During the first year of Soviet occcupation (1940 ...

). Her final film role was in the Valentin Kuik penned and directed 1992 Tallinnfilm drama ''Armastuse lahinguväljad''. Rästas' television career wasn't as prolific as her stage career, although several stage productions featuring Rästas were televised on

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Television'') was launched on ...

(ETV), including a 1974 production of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's ''

Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...

'' in which she played the role of The Duchess of Berwick, and a 1979 production of

Hermann Bahr Hermann Anastas Bahr (; 19 July 1863 – 15 January 1934) was an Austrian writer, playwright, director, and critic. Biography Born and raised in Linz, Bahr studied in Vienna, Graz, Czernowitz and Berlin, devoting special attention to philosophy, ...

's ''The Concert''. She also had a small role in the 1981 Tõnis Kask directed ETV television biographical film ''Two Days from the Life of Viktor Kingissepp'', which chronicled Estonian communist politician

Viktor Kingissepp Viktor Eduard Kingissepp (; – 4 May 1922) was an Estonian communist politician, the leader of the Estonian Communist Party. The son of a factory worker, he joined a Marxist circle as a schoolboy in Arensburg (now ) (which was renamed Kingi ...

. Rästas also performed in a number of radio plays during her career. The most notable of which was in the 1969

Raimond Kaugver Raimond Kaugver (25 February 1926 Rakvere – 24 January 1992 Tallinn) was an Estonian writer. In 1943, he escaped to Finland and joined there with Finnish Infantry Regiment 200. In 1944, he returned to Estonia. From 1945 to 1950, he spent in a pr ...

penned and Leo Martin directed drama ''Vilve'', which aired on Eesti Raadio. Following her departure from the Estonian Drama Theatre in 1992, Rästas rarely pursued further work as an actress, preferring to live quietly in semi-retirement. She would occasionally take small roles in the intervening years, most notably opposite

Ita Ever Ita Ever (born Ilse Ever; 1 April 1931 – 9 August 2023) was an Estonian film, radio, theatre, and television actress. She has been described as a Grand Old Lady of Estonian theatre. Ever began her career in 1953 as a stage actress, and appea ...

, Ülle Ulla,

Liina Olmaru Liina Olmaru (often credited as Liina-Riin Olmaru; born 11 April 1967) is an Estonian stage, radio, television, and film actress. Early life and education Liina-Riin Olmaru was born in 1967 in Tallinn to actors Rein Olmaru and Linda Olmaru (''n� ...

, Epp Eesapäev, and

Ago-Endrik Kerge Ago-Endrik Kerge (also Endrik Kerge; 8 April 1939 Tallinn – 25 April 2021) was an Estonian dancer, ballet master, director and actor. In 1959 he graduated from Tallinn Choreographic School. In 1976 he graduated from the Tallinn State Conservato ...

in a production of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's ''

They Do It with Mirrors ''They Do It with Mirrors'' is a detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1952 under the title of ''Murder with Mirrors'' and in UK by the Collins Crime Club on 17 Novemb ...

'' directed by

Roman Baskin Roman Baskin (25 December 1954 – 13 September 2018) was an Estonian actor and director of stage and screen. His parents were Eino Baskin and Ita Ever. Baskin's credits as an actor included '' Lotte from Gadgetville'' (2006), '' 186 Kilometres' ...

, which premiered at the House of Blackheads in Tallinn in April 2005 and subsequently performed at several theatres throughout Estonia shortly after.

Personal life

Maila Liivoja married to Kainu Rästas while still a student at the Tallinn Conservatory. The couple had one child. After her departure from the Estonian Drama Theatre she settled for a time on a small farm near

Vasalemma Vasalemma is a small borough () in Harju County, northwestern Estonia. As of the 2011 census, the settlement's population was 879, of which the Estonians were 711 (80.9%). Vasalemma has a station on the Elron western route. Vasalemma Manor Va ...

Harju County Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...

. Later, she moved to an apartment in the Tallinn subdistrict of

Kopli Kopli (Estonian for ''"Paddock"'') is a subdistrict of the district of Põhja-Tallinn (Northern Tallinn) in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It is located on the Kopli Peninsula and is bordered by parts of the Tallinn Bay, the Kopli Bay to the ...

. Kainu Rästas died in 2007, and Maila Rästas died unexpectedly the following year in Tallinn, aged 71 and was buried in

Pärnamäe Cemetery Pärnamäe Cemetery () is a cemetery in Pirita District, Tallinn, Estonia. Its area is 105.6 ha. The cemetery was opened in 1962, and the cemetery was the merger of two former cemeteries. The first burial took place in 1963. In 1993, a crematori ...

Acknowledgements

*Meritorious Artist of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit ( union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the occupied and annexed territory of Estonia ...

(1986)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rastas, Maila 1937 births 2008 deaths Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian voice actresses Soviet actresses Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Actresses from Tartu 20th-century Estonian actresses Burials at Pärnamäe Cemetery