From September 1, the Latvian Puppet Theater will stop broadcasting shows in Russian, but is preparing a “special repertoire” for Russian-speaking viewers – interactive, bilingual and “silent” shows, its director Mārtiņš Eikhe said in an interview. with Delphi.
The publication recalls that the Ministry of Culture of Latvia in October 2022 amended its agreement with the puppet theater, obliging it to fully translate the repertoire into the official language by the end of the season.
According to Eikhe, the number of Russian-language productions of the theater has gradually decreased in recent seasons, especially in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the reconstruction of the building, due to which the troupe was forced to temporarily move to the premises of the Latvian Society House.
The director of the theater claims that lately, Russian-speaking families are increasingly bringing their children to shows in Latvian – “including with the aim of learning it”, and in fact only shows “for the little ones” remained in Russian.
As a result, Eikhe explained, the number of actors in the Russian troupe also decreased, “after all, in Latvian universities acting is taught in the state language”, but “none of them will be dismissed due to the new repertoire grid”.
Nevertheless, some changes are expected in the troupe – the dismissal of a full-time director, the hiring of a playwright and the redistribution of the load between the actors so that each of them takes care of the premieres. In addition, Eikhe announced that there are plans to expand the age range of the audience: for example, a new production of the theater “Without morality. With dolls” is designed for an adult audience and, in particular, ironically on the order of the Ministry of Culture to remove Russian-language performances from the repertoire.
Additionally, according to the theater director, the new season will feature the first performance for the youngest – aged between one and a half and two years old – “interactive and visual, with minimal text, with its help the children can start learning the Latvian language.
Other planned productions are a play for teenagers based on Andersen’s fairy tales, which will explore “different situations with national minorities in Latvia”, and a bilingual performance as part of the “educational function of the State Theater “.
Eikhe believes that the Russian community in Latvia should be more active in the fight to preserve its culture and create “quality independent projects in Russian” with the support of the Goethe Institute or the British Council.
“However, in my opinion, the representation of the Russian-speaking community in contemporary art ended in the mid-1990s, plus some imports from Russia,” said the director of the Puppet Theater.
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