This year, the Latvian Puppet Theater plans to stage ten performances

Improvement works are continuing in the building of the Latvian Puppet Theater this year, the Large, Small and Chamber Halls are being equipped. In part, the theater continues to work with the existing stage equipment, because due to the delay in the procurement of stage technical equipment in connection with VAS “Valsts nekustamie ipsumi” (VNĪ), the installation times of light and sound equipment cannot be accurately predicted.

The report emphasizes that this makes it difficult to plan the repertoire and will probably create a situation where the theater will re-light the performances and adapt them to the new technical possibilities. Improvement works in the outdoor space and updating the visual identity of the theater are also ongoing.

Also, the report emphasizes that the primary task of the Latvian Puppet Theater is still the creation of artistically high-quality performances for children, young people and adults of different ages, using puppets, objects and other forms of visual theater. At the same time, the theater repertoire includes performances for adults, as well as works adapted for specific social groups.

In 2024, the theater turns eighty years old. It is planned to organize an international workshop and conference in cooperation with leading Lithuanian, Estonian and Finnish visual and puppet theater professionals. The purpose of the planned conference will be to talk about an inclusive and sustainable theater environment, to promote the recognition of puppets and visual theater.

This year, the theater plans to cooperate and exchange experiences with organizations that represent the development of children’s theater and contemporary theater in Latvia – the International Association of Professional Theaters for Children and Youth, the Valmiera Summer Theater Festival, the Liepāja Puppet Theater and the Latvian Young Theater Institute, in order to promote the development of the industry, international cooperation, as well as an increase in the prestige of children’s and puppet theater in Latvia, which would promote the attraction of new professionals.

The Latvian Puppet Theater plans to participate in the Valmiera Summer Theater Festival and the Baltic Visual Theater Show this year.

The report emphasizes that participation in festivals contributes to the artistic growth of the theater collective, giving an opportunity to get acquainted with the activities of professionals outside the borders of Latvia.

The reconstruction project of the historical building of the Latvian Puppet Theater was completed last year. The building on Krišjāņa Barona Street, Riga, was put into operation on November 9.

VNĪ stated that during the reconstruction, the energy efficiency of the building was increased, while also improving its aesthetic and technical condition, so that it would fit more organically into the urban environment.

The initially planned energy efficiency project turned into a much larger building reconstruction and reconstruction project, because during the process of replacing the roof, it was discovered that part of the building’s supporting structures were in an emergency condition. Therefore, the originally planned handover deadline of the Puppet Theater building from November 2022 was extended by almost one year.

The building of the Latvian Puppet Theater on Krišjāņa Barona Street was built in 1911 and is a cultural and historical monument located in the protection zone of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site “Historical Center of Riga”.

The construction costs of the project reached 4.13 million euros without value added tax, and it was financed with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget.