Documentary thriller "Order No. 2" at Dailes Theatre sparks political storm before premiere

The original production "Order No. 2" by director Valters Sīlis and dramaturg Matīss Gricmanis has attracted significant attention even before its premiere. It is the first theatre piece in Latvia to delve deeply into the behind-the-scenes of the country's political scene. Early this year, it became the subject of heated debate when MP Ainārs Šlesers, leader of the opposition party "Latvia First" (LPV), appealed to the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) to prevent public performances during the pre-election campaign period. Šlesers argued that Gricmanis's play could be indirect political agitation against him and his party.

On February 24, TVNET reported that KNAB, after evaluating both Šlesers's submission and other available information, concluded that there was no basis to consider the production as hidden pre-election agitation. No objective evidence of such signs was found. However, in March, KNAB Director Jēkabs Straume promised in the Saeima that the bureau would evaluate the play's content once the pre-election campaign period began, which started on June 6.

"Order No. 2" is a documentary thriller about 2011, when then-President Valdis Zatlers issued an order to dissolve the 10th Saeima. Dramaturg Matīss Gricmanis based the script on more than 20 interviews with direct participants from all sides involved – the presidential chancellery, the Saeima, security agencies, the government, and the leadership of the then "Zatlers' Reform Party." Most of the interviewees are no longer in the public eye but were at the epicenter of events at the time. Gricmanis also examined archives and materials from the so-called oligarch cases.

The play follows the success of Tom Treinis's production "Where the State Disappeared" (2023), which also used Gricmanis's dramaturgy to explore historical events – this time President Kārlis Ulmanis's difficult choices on the eve of Soviet occupation. As noted in a review, the appearance of politicians on Latvian theatre stages is a relatively regular phenomenon, which can be seen as a societal barometer: when patience is about to overflow, those who challenge it end up on stage to help audiences understand the current situation and the need for future action.