Jūnass Jūnasons
THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED
An explosive comedy in 2 parts
Directed by Mārtiņš Eihe
Dramaturgy - Laila Burāne
Set design - Pamela Butāne
Choreography - Agate Bankava
Music - Rihards Zelezņevs
Cast: Aigars Apinis, Anna Nele Āboliņa, Rūdis Bīviņš, Artis Jančevskis, Māra Mennika, Elizabete Milta, Kristaps Kristers Ozols, Ieva Puķe, Inese Ramute, Klinta Reinholde
The main character, Allan Karlsson, runs away from the retirement home on his 100th birthday, grabbing a stranger's bag with fifty million kronor at a bus stop. Alongside the events of the present, where a love story tangled in complete chaos, a thriller with explosions, more or less living gangsters, and an unmistakably very alive elephant, Jonas Jonasson tells the story of Allan's extraordinary life journey. “A blockbuster worthy of cheers, a novel of lies with a little bit of truth added,” the publisher Piratförlaget wrote about Jonasson's debut novel when it came out in 2009.
“The novel lets us look, in a comic way, at the most important events of the last century and their impact on our lives. The hundred-year-old Allan Karlsson insists that he is not interested in politics, as long as there is something to eat and drink. This so-called neutrality of his triggers a series of devastating events in world history. I think this is very relevant for showing the influence of apolitical thinking on the processes around us,” emphasizes the director of the carnival-like, dynamic production, Mārtiņš Eihe.
Premiere on January 21, 2027, in the Main Hall.
The production is made with the support of the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation in the 2026/2027 season at Valmiera Theatre.
With the support of the foundation in the 2026/2027 season, the following reached audiences: The Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (directed by Indra Roga). In the 2025/2026 season: Evil Spirit (directed by Inese Mičule), Medea (directed by Reinis Suhanovs), You Will Be Mine! (directed by Jānis Znotiņš), Tailor Days in Silmači (directed by Elmārs Seņkovs). In the 2024/2025 season: Romeo and Juliet (directed by Inese Mičule), Blue (directed by Māra Ķimele), Sprīdītis (directed by Reinis Suhanovs), Four White Shirts (directed by Jānis Znotiņš), and Magic Mountain (directed by Toms Treinis).
The friendship between the theatre and the foundation began in the 2023/2024 season, the theatre's centenary season, when four classics of Latvian drama were staged: Valmiera Boys (directed by Jānis Znotiņš), Son of the Widow (directed by Viesturs Roziņš), as well as Joseph and His Brothers (directed by Inese Mičule) and The Prodigal Son (directed by Reinis Suhanovs), which received special acclaim from audiences and critics.
