The 105th season of the theatre, under the artistic direction of Viesturs Kairišs, opened with the ironic musical performance Stupid Life with the participation of Dakh Daughters, The Tiger Lillies and actresses of Dailes Theatre and CCA Dakh (an ETC member theatre). In a visually striking stand-up show format, conceived by Ukrainian director Vlad Troitsky, performed in Latvian, Ukrainian and English, the artists stirred up the air while exploring the questions of freedom and democracy. Stupid Life received rave reviews and is set for additional performances on December 16 and 17 at the Dailes Theatre.
Young spectators and theatre lovers will definitely appreciate Blue Fox, a performance by the acclaimed Lithuanian theatre and film director Jonas Tertelis. The show is an example of devised theatre where the director, along with the artistic team and actors, is creating a new fairytale for contemporary audiences while referencing the beloved aesthetics of Japanese anime. The premiere of Blue Fox is set for September 13.
The Wild Swans, written by Māra Zālīte and composed by Raimonds Pauls, is a theatre hit that was already staged at the Dailes Theatre in 1995 and 2005 and has amassed a cult-like following across generations. This simple fable about love, friendship and sacrifice, with roots in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, will be directed by Klāvs Mellis and bring together some of the most talented Latvian theatre-makers and artists of the young. The opening night is November 29, 2024.
The visual scale of the Dailes Theatre, a hallmark of its artistic programme, will be tested and playfully challenged by the artistic director Viesturs Kairišs who will be returning to the big stage with his new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. This famous satire on love and its struggles is one of the most intriguing highlights of the theatre's new season, premiering on February 15, 2025.
Meanwhile, Syrian-born Dutch director Ola Mafaalani will collaborate with world-renowned Latvian artists – designer Germans Ermičs, Latvian composer Krists Auznieks and costume designer duo MAREUNROL'S – and many others to bring to the stage the Nobel Prize winning novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk. In the lead role in this eco-feminist thriller for the very first time on stage of the Dailes will be actress Chulpan Khamatova. The premiere is set for April 4, 2025.
The aim of the Dailes is to showcase contemporary classics, hence in the upcoming seasons, premieres include The Effect by Lucy Prebble, directed by Diāna Kaijaka, which will be staged with two different casts and premiere on September 14 and 15, 2024. The Binge, an original play by Matīss Gricmanis that explores the life and death of writer Charles Bukowski with a musical touch, will be directed by Juris Jonelis. Its world premiere is scheduled for August 28, 2024. The Hills of California, a play by Jez Butterworth will be directed by Mārtiņš Eihe and will open in March, 2025. Meanwhile, the staging of Marius von Mayenburg's buzz-generating title Nachtland by the young director Toms Treinis is set to premiere in May, 2025.
Throughout the 2024/2025 season the Dailes Theatre will offer performances with English surtitles. These include The Night of the Shining Princess by Viesturs Kairišs, The Master and Margarita by Tiit Ojasoo and Ene-Liis Semper, Leopoldstadt by John Malkovich, Rotkho by Lukasz Twarkowski, Winter's Tale by Jeff James, and more. For detailed information about performance dates, please visit the theatre’s website:
https://www.dailesteatris.lv/en/
The Dailes Theatre is continuing to support Ukraine and its culture during the ongoing war – the well-received production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle by the talented Georgian director Data Tavadze, which premiered at the Dailes Theatre in 2023, will be transferred to the Kyiv Left Bank Theatre, a member of the ETC. In collaboration with the timber company Stiga RM, the Dailes Theatre has donated the set design, costumes and the opportunity to stage The Caucasian Chalk Circle with Tavadze at the Kyiv Left Bank Theatre. The performance is scheduled to premiere in January, 2025.
