THE PRODIGAL SON

Rudolf Blaumanis

THE PRODIGAL SON

Drama in 2 parts

Director, set designer - Reinis Suhanovs,

Composer - Jēkabs Nīmanis,

Costume designer - Anna Heinrihsone,

Lighting designer - Oskars Pauliņš,

Movement artist - Linda Mīļā

Cast: Krišjānis Strods, Aksels Aizkalns, Aigars Apinis, Rūdis Bīviņš, Ieva Estere Barkāne, Gerda Embure, Mārtiņš Liepa, Māra Mennika, Rihards Rudāks, Sandis Runge, Diāna Krista Stafecka, Elīna Vāne, Kārlis Dzintars Zahovskis.

"In Latvian drama, The Prodigal Son is one of the strongest works about the meeting of youth and maturity. For me personally, the relationship between parents and children is one of the most important questions in this play. As a father of two children, I also think about what it will be like when I let them out into adult life, what emotions, mistakes, and moments of guilt there will be at that moment... I believe that nothing can replace shared moments of happiness," says Reinis Suhanovs. The director believes that when a new class of actors enters the theatre, choosing this play is only natural. Reinis Suhanovs calls this masterpiece of Blaumanis' drama programmatic and is staging it for the second time at the Valmiera Theatre.

A performance about how important it is to talk things through, to talk at all. Then it is also possible to bend that fir tree, not to stretch the "threads" of silence and stubbornness all the way to tragedy. About repaying debts in every sense, to the innkeeper, to the father, to life, to oneself. This emphasis is especially important to the director in this new interpretation.

Premiere on May 22, 2024. Round Hall

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The performance was created with the support of the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation in the theatre's centenary season (2023/2024 season). Theatre lovers were offered new productions based on the values of Latvian drama classics. In this season, the staging of four works became possible thanks to the foundation's financial contribution. These are Rainis' Joseph and His Brothers (directed by Inese Mičule), Widow's Son, based on motifs from Viļis Plūdons' poem (directed by Viesturs Roziņš), Pāvils Rozītis' Valmiera Boys (directed by Jānis Znotiņš), and Rudolf Blaumanis' The Prodigal Son (directed by Reinis Suhanovs).

Support in the 2023/2024 season is a gift from the Boris and Inara Teterev Foundation to the Valmiera Theatre on its centenary and a contribution to its journey from its temporary home in the contemporary art space Kurtuve to the renovated and modernized theatre building on Lāčplēša Street.