The Mystery of Marie Rogêt

Edgar Allan Poe / Vahur Keller

THE MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGÊT

A murder mystery

The performance is in Estonian

Mary Rogers worked in a small tobacco shop in New York. This “Beautiful Cigar Girl” was famous all over Manhattan and attracted many admirers. On the morning of 25 July 1841 Mary left home, and three days later her body was found floating in the Hudson River …

Marie Rogêt worked in a small perfume shop in Paris. The saleswoman’s beauty became the talk of the town, and customers flocked to the store. On the morning of 22 June 1841 Marie left home, and three days later her body is found in the Seine …

“The Mystery of Marie Rogêt” by Edgar Allan Poe is the second story in a series of short stories featuring the detective Auguste Dupin. Charles Baudelaire called this story “a masterpiece” and “a wonder”. It is also the first crime story based on real life. A year and a half after the disappearance of the beautiful tobacco girl Mary Rogers, Poe tried to solve the mystery using articles he found in the press. He moved the setting from New York to Paris and gave Mary Rogers a new name, Marie Rogêt. Although Poe’s analysis is fascinating, the great writer could not work out who the culprit was. The case of Mary Rogers remains unsolved to this day.

180 years later, Vahur Keller is running his own investigation. Keller draws on documentary evidence, theories and urban legends related to this mystery. In his own version, Keller sends the detective Auguste Dupin to re-examine the case on the basis of newly discovered evidence. In this production, Poe and his character Dupin “revive” the people involved in the case and dissect both facts and fantasies in order to find the truth. Keller’s Dupin is going to solve the mysterious murder at last, and even Edgar Allan Poe will not be able to avoid becoming one of the suspects.

EDGAR ALLAN POE – Riho Rosberg

AUGUSTE DUPIN – Meelis Kubo

MARY ROGERS – Liis Haab

authors Edgar Allan Poe / Vahur Keller

director and sound engineer Vahur Keller

set and costume design Britt Urbla Keller

choreographer Kristina Paškevicius

light and video engineer Rene Topolev

mask design Sandra Lange

make-up artist Evelin Sulg

graphic design Britt Urbla Keller

production management Jane Oksa

sales and marketing Annika Land–Reisser

costume production Riina Rosin

This production is supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment

Performance duration 2 hours 45 minutes with one intermission

Premiere 28 February 2021