J. W. Goethe "Verter",
H. Ibsen "Hedda Gabler",
"Coka Cola Carefree",
Guy de Maupasant "Le Bon Ami",
Alfred de Musset "On ne badine pas avec l'amour"

Author. At the age of 25, J.V.Goethe wrote an epistolary novel, “The Sorrows of Young Werther”, which made him famous all over Europe. This novel created a fashion - young people dressed like Werther and the more sensitive ones committed suicide at the slightest tribulation. Censorship condemned the novel as one celebrating adultery and suicide. The stage version of the novel is being produced at the New Riga Theater in the year of Goethe’s 250th anniversary, and, as in the age when the novel was written, it challenges and denies the pragmatically rational life, trusting in the human being as an individual instead.

Director. Pçteris Krilovs. Moscow Institute of Cinematography (1975), film director (14 films). The Annual Latvian Film award “Lielais Kristaps” to the video film “Aug?daugava” (1995). In 1988, started to teach acting at Daugavpils Theater courses. Pedagogue at the Latvian Academy of Culture, Drama department (since 1993), Professor (since 1999). Since 1995, initiator and director of the International Festival of Contemporary Theater “Homo Novus”. In 1991, directed the first production, of “Tale of a Madman, Full of Sound and Fury” by W. Faulkner. Director of 10 theater productions and two operas: “Lucia di Lammermoor”(1997) and “La boheme”(1995). Latvian Theater Award for the best director’s work for “The Possessed” by Dostoevsky (1993). ” The director strives to create “the course of real life.” He ignores the theatrical demands for inflated dramatism; he seeks for alternative means of on-stage expression, often deliberately misbehaving against traditional norms. The composition of his productions consists of a montage of scenes created by the main character’s psychological-inner world.

Production. An ode to love and art. The director is interested in an irrational, unmotivated emotional phenomenon, "wertherism”…, implemented on stage by means of sound, light, atmosphere. ““Werther” was first shown on the boards of the Little Auditorium at the Daugavpils theater, as a student production show. At that time, we felt that Werther, too, loves, suffers and lives outside the given reality, just as we did in Daugavpils. Our conclusions and decisions were final, just like his. He, and we too, knew that life is all our own mistake. Wertherism…” (P.Krilovs). The director does not define a unequivocal relationship between the audience and the stage, leaving space for the viewer’s individual feelings. Everything that happens is slow and unhurried, seemingly accidental, seemingly dispensable. Critics’ reactions to the production are controversial: “… the slow pace, empty pauses, repetitive situations become tedious, as the actors lack both emotion and mental energy...” . L.Dzene. “The extraordinary composition of the production is the weaving of the net-like fabric of a human soul, dripping together from colors, sounds, words, from everything.” U.Adamaite.

Author Henryk Ibsen (1862-1906) A hundred-year-old play written by the norvegian classic attracts theatres by the difficulty in guessing the conundrum of Hedda Gabler.Aristocratically natured Hedda is unable to forgive people for everything that is unbeautiful: commonplace, cowardice, superficiality and hypocricy. Her lonely and imperious heart is burned by disgust of life where she cannot find the absolutism of beauty. Searching for something that she disbelieves existing, she does not believe exists, makes everybody’s life a tired, hopeless and fatal game.

Director Gintaras Varnas (1969) Independent theatre director is the student of conceptual Lithuanian theater creator Jonas Vaitkus.Graduated from the Music academy of Lithuania, he drew experience from international theatre seminars, experimented in broadcast and Vilnius theatre scenes. G.Varnas deserves his reputation as a creator of “difficult plays” and his career has floated through his participation in his colleagues surrealistic visions and through Shakespeare, B. Strauss, G. Lorca, A. Camus. G.Varnas has a special talent to show the classical secrets of human spiritual catastrophe as the typical degratory processes of the contemporary psychological consitution of irony and self-mockery- a nice and perfectly planned shot straight to the forehead of modern man. That’s why G.Varnas theatre tragedy is elegantly open, cynicaly beautiful, glancing in a simple understanding that hell and heaven are inside the man’s heart.

Performance. G.Varnas whose conception of theatre is to speculate about man from his many aspects, from his csmic and tragical sources; viewing the classical Hedda like the beauty of a flame, the majesty of a puriting fire.Critic V.Jaunuðkis instead of traditional “wrath, coming under Ibsen’s jaws” realized how Hedda’s posened passion sets out to destroy everything that is unbeatiful, unreal and unperfect. “The producer gleaned his heroes from the past. The action takes places here and now, for the first and the last time.” (A. Girdzijauskaite) “Hedda Gabler” was acknowledged as the best performance of the season ‘98/99 in Lithuania, the director, the composer G.Puskunigis, the costume designer J. Statkevièius and the main role’s actress J.Onaityte became the laureats of “Christopher”, the most honorable award in Lithuania.The play was performed in international theatre festivals in Rakvere (Estonia), Torune (Poland) and Slovakia.

"Coca Cola Carefree" Klaipçda, Lithuania
"You must mix everything to such an extent that you cannot make head or tail of that and only then you will start to understand" Migel de Unamuno
Object theatre
1 h 10 min
Directed by Bens Ðarks
Performers Bens Ðarks, Rita Rimkute

The "Theatre Gliukai" was founded in 1987 in a basement café. Under wild circumstances B.Šarka, object artist, actor, director and head of the company, united different artists round himself. Their alternative theatre soon became a symbol of independence all over the country. Benas Ðarka (1987) graduated faculty of the Music Academy in Klaipçda (1987), like no one else, consistently carries out the idea of "folk theatre" sanctioned by his diploma. But with one small exception. He is guilty only for having so obviously chosen such a remote site for his work -the underground, nature. The more natural such a decision is, the harder it is for society to react appropriately to it. He performed performances "Kukuti's Balades" after M.Martinaitis, "A Journey To Another World " afetr A. Breton (1988), "Nostalgia" (1989), "Pub" (1990), "Oh, don't" (1991) after M.Martinaitis, "Chambermaids" (1992) after J.Genet, "A House of White Clouds" (1993), performnaces took part at the theatre festivals in Estonia, Denmark, Germany. "Anti-esthetic', "amateur theatre", "dilletantism" - these are the labels to him by our bestknown critics (in contrast to comments about Ðarka's by their Western colleagues).

The title of the play "Crefree" could be translated as "A Sand Box", where children play. But "Carefree" also mens care-free- without a problems, and also "Carefree" hygiene packs and also it mens "everything is temporary" This ia slang, which is principle of Zen-buddhism, this sis J.D. Salinger's Plump Lady, who actually is Jesus Christ.

Guy de Maupasant "Le Bon Ami" Art Theatre Riga Latvia
Is our damnation so hopeless, that we are not even worthy of punishment?
Directed by Mihail Gruzdov (Sankt- Petersburg, Russia)
Stage designer Andris Freibergs.
Performers Juris Þagars, Mirdza Martinsone, Agnese Zeltiòa, Indra Briíe, Vita Vârpiòa, Gundega Ozolîte, Pçteris Liepiòð, Ivars Auziòð, Juris Strenga, Jânis Visockis.

Guy de Maupasant (1850-1893). The novella "Ball of Fat" brought his first success (Flaubert noted, moved to tears: "I cannot refrain from saying that I consider this work to be created by a genius"). The protagonist of the novel "Bel-Ami" is a character whose features seem familiar, they belong to a traditional type in European literature - go-getter - lover, but, basically, undoubtedly, parvenue. This character as a peculiar indicator helps the author to reveal the morals of society. Bon-ami Georges Durois (in the twenties the original title of the novel "bon ami" turned into a common name, like the archetypal Don Juan), his career - from the apprentice journalist to a politician - is shaped in lovers' beds. The topicality of the chosen theme is proven by the fact that during the author's life -time the novel "Bon-ami" witnessed 51 publications in a three year span.

Director Mikhail Gruzdov (1953) studied at Moscow Schukin Vakhtangov Theatre Institute, and has produced performances in theatres of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and has worked as a lecturer at the St. Petersburg Theatre Academy (since 1993). He has also produced plays in Latvia - Valmiera Theatre, Rîga Russian Drama Theatre, Daile Theatre, the most important productions: J.P. Sartre "Dedication to That Lady", K. Hamsun "Mystery", R. Annibali "Ferdinando", F. Sagan "We Love and We Live", E. Zola "Thérèse Raquin" (received the award as the best annual Latvian theatre production of 1996). Director - an intellectual with strong feelings for the ethical, engaged in an intense religious search, his central issues - crime and punishment, sensuality and morality.

The performance offers almost journalistic parallels to the current social context, but the sensual, visually impressive scenes hide philosophical questions put by the director. Differing from to other productions he is not aiming for direct revelation of his position, allowing placid passionlessness to dominate. A contrast can be observed between outward movements and the conditions of ethical hollowness. "Career as a dance marathon or a non-stop movement ." (Critic Silvija Radzobe) This stylish version of the decadent nature of modern age is expressed in dances to the rhythms of ballroom music. Five women and five different dance rhythms. "We cannot quite talk about souls, spirituality, shame or conscience, therefore… The people-cartoons of this performance are so attractively repugnant, that it becomes quite clear - for them concepts "morality, God, loneliness, sinfulness" are nonexistent. Nonexistent, because they are so natural!" (N.Naumanis)

Alfred de Musset "On ne badine pas avec l'amour", Russian Drama Theatre of Riga Latvia
2 h 30 min
Directed by Jelena Nevezhina (Russia)
Stage designer Bruno Roze
Performers Boris Ploskih, Andris Keiðs, Dmitrij Palejes,Igor Èeròavskij, Veronika Plotòikova, Tatjana Lukaðenkova, Jûlija Þlukto, Vadim Grosman.

In the history of French literature the most striking pages of the life of Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) have been written by his love story (a stormy relationship with the writer George Sand) and the short period of his creative activity (his most famous plays - "Lorenzaccio," "Candlestick", "No Joking About Love", "Barbarina"). The plays of A. de Musset are written in the style of "comediens et proverbs", the actions serve as an illustration to a moralizing dictum. The protagonist's Perdican of "No Joking about Love" character is formed by a contradiction between scepticism and idealism. Literary critics have noted the influences of salon comedies, Marivot, as well as Shakespeare on the creative work of Musset, but in the production of Y.Nevezhina an even older tradition is brought back to life - Italian dell'arte.

Director Yelena Nevezhina (1969) graduated from the Department of Law, Moscow Lomonosov University (1992) and Russian Theatre Art Institute (in the master-class of the outstanding master of Russian psychological school Pyotr Fomenko) (1998). J.Nevezhina graduation work - the production of F.G.Krommelink's "Cold and Hot" became the laureate of "Moscow debut" (1998) and was a guest of the "Homo Novus' 97" festival. M.Kundera's "Jacques and his Master" (1998) production at the Moscow theatre "Satirikon" was awarded the Stanislavsky prize for the best spring season performance in Moscow. Rîga Russian Drama theatre - Tom Stoppard's "Artists" (1998), Moscow Mayakovsky Theatre - E. Smith's "Mysterious variations" (1999).

The performance has been intentionally built on stylistically different acting - psychological drama, buffonade style, thus emphasizing the conflict between plausibility and reality, between the interiority of feelings and their outer manifestations. The director continues her creative quest - trying to unite psychological characters, relationships with the dell'arte style. This performance has the intensity of action and emotions, the enthusiasm and gaiety of acting, element of histrionics and the permissibility of the character-mask. The sudden, tragic ending of the performance echoes the personal fate of the playwright A. de Musset - sufferings of love bring about his illness and the cessation of creative activities.