GOLDEN HORSE

15 April, 19.00 on stage of Novgorod Philharmonic Hall

with support State Culture Capital Foundation and Ministry of culture Republic of Latvia

Latvia Puppet theatre, Riga, Latvia

“GOLDEN HORSE”

by Matiss Gricmanis based on play by Rainis

 Stage director — Duda Paiva 

Puppet designer  — Duda Paiva

Set designer —  Andris Eglitis

Costume designer — Vita Radzi?a

Composer — Rihards Zalupe

Lights designer — Julija Bondarenko

Stage director’s assistant — Pawel Struminski

Actors — Baiba Vanaga, Lienite Osipova, Aleksandrs Jonovs, Anrijs Sirmais, Druvis Anusans

Duration – 1 hour 10 minutes

Recommended age – 16+

The dancer, actor and stage director Duda Paiva (Netherlands), by uniting the elements of contemporary dance and puppet theatre, has created a contemporary interpretation of the play by Rainis Golden Horse. It’s a Baltic fairy tale about the youngest of three sons, Antins, who in spite of his circumstances climbs the Glass mountain to awaken the sleeping princess Saulcerite and saves the kingdom. Paiva’s interpretation will lead the spectators into the world of hope and hopelessness, light and darkness, rulers and subjects. Director regards the hand of Saulcerite (One Who Hopes for Sun) as a fight between the black and the white, transferring the plot of the play unto the board of chess game. It is a cruel game, but at the same time the main hero Anti?s carries a naive message that warms up hearts and in quite unexpected manner stupefies us with its openness.

The original play, written in 1909, relates to Latvia’s fight for cultural autonomy at the beginning of the 20th century. Latvians had suffered defeat during the 1905 Revolution and World War One was just beyond the horizon. Rainis, like many other Latvians hoped to inspire a nation. Golden Horse provided a path to achieve independence. Rainis was the pseudonym of Janis Plieksans (1865 – 1929), a Latvian poet, playwright, translator, and politician. His works had a profound influence on the literary Latvian language, and the ethnic symbolism he employed in his major works has been central to Latvian nationalism. Rainis was also socially active and politically prominent, being one of the national leaders of the Revolution of 1905 in Latvia and the New Current that foreshadowed it.