Acting Following her graduation from Tallinn State Conservatory, Jääger has been engaged as a stage actress at the
Vanemuine theatre in
Tartu since 1988, with several lapses. Jääger's production diploma roles were as
Prince Hamlet in
William Shakespeare's
Hamlet in 1987, performed at
St. Catherine's Monastery in Tallinn, and as Olga Sergeyevna Prozorova in
Anton Chekhov's
Three Sisters, performed at the
Ugala theatre in
Viljandi in 1988. Her first two roles as an actress engaged at the Vanemuine were as Florence in a production of
Robert Thomas' 1964 play
Trap for a Lonely Man, and as
Lady Macduff in a production of
William Shakespeare's
MacBeth, both performed in 1988. She has also performed, written and directed with the Taarka Heritage Theatre collective, an amateur theatre group founded with the goal to promote and preserve
Seto culture and identity. Merle Jääger has also appeared in a number of television roles. Her first significant role was as Hilda in the 1992 two-part
Eesti Televisioon (ETV) period drama film
Soo, based on the 1914 novel of the same name (originally titled
Kirjutatud on…) by Oskar Luts. In 2009, she appeared as Miia in six episodes of the
Kanal 2 crime series
Kelgukoerad. She has also appeared in several other Estonian televisions series, including:
Kättemaksukontor in 2013,
Padjaklubi in 2014, and
Viimane võmm and
Restart in 2015. Also, in 2007, she appeared as Mother in the Kadri Kõusaar-directed family drama film
Magnus. In 2011, she appeared in the Mart Kivastik-directed drama
Üks mu sõber, opposite actor
Aarne Üksküla. Other feature-length film roles include
Õnn tuleb magades in 2016,
Rohelised kassid in 2017, and
Klassikokkutulek 2: Pulmad ja matused, a 2018 sequel to the 2016
René Vilbre-directed comedy
Klassikokkutulek. In 2019, she appeared as early 20th-century Seto folk singer
Hilana Taarka in the
Hardi Volmer-directed historical comedy
Johannes Pääsukese tõeline elu. Additionally, Jääger has also appeared in a number of student films and short films, including the role of Eve in the popular 2006 Rasmus Merivoo-directed comedy
Tulnukas ehk Valdise pääsemine 11 osas, opposite actors
Mart Avandi,
Ott Sepp,
Vallo Kirs, and Uku Uusberg. In 2024, she reprised her role of Eve in
Tulnukas 2 ehk Valdise tagasitulek 17 osas, directed by Rasmus Merivoo, which is a feature-length sequel to
Tulnukas ehk Valdise pääsemine 11 osas. She is a member of the Estonian Theatre Union since 1990 and a member of the Estonian Actors' Union since 1993. Open, direct, and often confrontational in her work (particularly, her early work), she became something of an
enfant terrible and has been described as rebellious and the "bard of protest". In 1988, she collaborated with
Tõnu Trubetsky, singer of the punk rock band
Vennaskond, on two poems that were included in his book of poetry
Pogo, published by Eesti Raamat. In 1988, Jääger was the youngest of the twenty-four founding members of the Estonian cultural and literary group
Wellesto. The group also included such notable intellectuals as
Madis Kõiv,
Maimu Berg,
Mati Hint,
Sven Grünberg,
Doris Kareva, Rein Kruus, Toomas Liiv,
Ivar Ivask,
Toomas Raudam,
Hasso Krull,
Linnart Mäll,
Jaan Undusk,
Haljand Udam, Olev Remsu, Mati Sirkel, Ülev Aaloe, and future
fourth President of Estonia
Toomas Hendrik Ilves. In 2000, she became a member of the
Estonian Writers' Union. ==Politics==