In May 1998 the New Theatre Institute invited to discussion clerks and the managers of the independent theatres to discuss the term "independent theatre" and to try "to legalise" its meaning in context of Latvian theatre policy. The summary of the discussion by Baiba Tjarve " Independence without the definition" was published in the daily "Jauna Avize" (16.-23.05.1998).

(…) For the moment there are working about 10 independent theatre companies in Latvia, whereas in Europe we can count them in hundreds. They build and important addition to the theatre life and proove that small company and its goal-directed management can implement the aims of the cultural policy of each country as successfully as the institutional theatres do. Theatres like this are irreplaceable, they guarantee the diversity in the theatre field. The independent theatres in Latvia does not fit in the cultural policy of the country for the moment, they have no definite place in the common "theatre landscape". They live their own private lives and deal with their own private problems "without the definition", although often they are the only ones who manage the educational function of the theatre - travelling to the schools in the countryside, while the Centre about the Decentralisation is just talking.

Why and how long one will separate the state theatres and independent theatres basing just on the historical difference of legal status (state theatre) but not analysing the artistic results and economical efficiancy. Do we need the independent theatres and what should they be? (…)