Āboliņš Withdraws from 'Spēlmaņu Nakts' Nomination in Protest of Šapiro's Removal
Actor Gundars Āboliņš has withdrawn his candidacy for the 'Spēlmaņu Nakts' award, protesting the jury's decision to exclude director Ādolfs Šapiro due to his visit to Moscow.
Gundars Āboliņš, an actor at the New Riga Theatre, has announced he is withdrawing from the 'Spēlmaņu Nakts' (Night of the Players) nomination for 'Actor of the Year'. He cites the jury's decision to remove director Ādolfs Šapiro from the nominees as the reason.
In a social media post, Āboliņš called the decision unprofessional, cowardly, and politically motivated. He stated that Šapiro is one of his teachers and that he stands with his mentor in this difficult situation. The actor also noted that a similar mistake was made about 30 years ago.
The 'Spēlmaņu Nakts' jury explained that due to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, they cannot publicly honor artists who participate in official events in Russia. Consequently, Šapiro's play 'Don Quixote' was also removed from the 'Large Form Production of the Year' category.
