Salmon Stasis

A little salmon sets off with his parents on an exciting journey from his home river to the Baltic Sea. But the sea is not enough for Stasis - beyond the sea lies the mysterious and vast Atlantic Ocean, home to the most select, greatest, and wisest salmon in the world - the Atlantic salmon. Driven by curiosity and egged on by Invasive Mitten Crab, Stasis sets off on an exciting journey in which he experiences not only challenges and dangers, but also fateful friendship, plenty of fun, unexpected encounters, and a great, great longing for home. Like an underwater Thumbelina, Stasis grows during the journey and gets to know the creatures of the sea and ocean, but most importantly - himself.

The performance is based on Daina Tabūna's popular novella “Salmon Stasis and the Atlantic Ocean” (2022) and depicts a vivid underwater world with bladderwrack, shoals of Baltic herring, moon jellyfish, red algae, bioluminescent plankton, surface-dwelling fish, and other marvelous creatures and plants. As the production designer Rūta Briede says, “The story of Salmon Stasis is also about the environment around us - clean nature and the sea - the place where Salmon and his friends live. Every year, 92 tons of textile products are thrown away in the world, so all the puppets and the set design in the performance are made from fabric scraps, used clothing, and defective store fabrics. Children and theater staff donated textiles they no longer needed, and now they can be seen on stage - a princess pajama has turned into a coral, a colorful seahorse was sewn from a T-shirt, and a whole pile of shirts now sways like seaweed instead of a curtain.”

The performance was created according to the principles of eco-theater.

Creative team:

Director: Edgars Kaufelds

Dramaturg: Ance Muižniece

Production designer: Rūta Briede

Composer: Rihards Zaļupe

Assistant to the designer: Evija Stukle-Zuitiņa

Lighting designer: Jūlija Bondarenko

Illustrations by: Rūta Briede, Artis Briedis

Cast:

Salmon Stasis: Agris Nātre

Judīte, Salmon Mom, Perch, Shoals of Fish, Atlantic Salmon, Newborn Seahorses: Lienīte Podskočija

Moon Jellyfish, Lavrentijs, Perch, Seahorse, Flounder, Atlantic Salmon: Arnita Jaunzeme

Perch Trainer Indra, Tourist, Plastic Straw, Herring, Atlantic Salmon: Kristīna Varša

Shrimp Ance, Salmon Dad, Porpoise, Tourist, Atlantic Salmon: Artūrs Putniņš

Invasive Mitten Crab, Porpoise, Seahorse, Flounder, Shoals of Fish, Atlantic Salmon: Miķelis Žideļūns

Fish voices performed by: Anna Klišāne, Matīss Millers, Dace Vītola, Edgars Kaufelds, Ance Muižniece, Nellija Spūle, Staņislavs Kuļikovs, Rūta Dišlere, Līva Jevdokimova, and Paula Kalniņa

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