Critics Weigh In on JRT Production About da Vinci and Aragona's Tullia
The New Riga Theatre (JRT) production "Tullia and da Vinci. Seven Days", directed by Anna Viduleja, imagines a meeting between the Renaissance artist and a courtesan. Three critics praise the conversations and the acting but criticise the dramaturgy and lengthy scene changes.
A new production, "Tullia and da Vinci. Seven Days", has been staged at the New Riga Theatre (JRT), one of Latvia's theatres. It was created by film director Anna Viduleja together with dramaturg Elīna Vildere and actor Vilis Daudziņš. On the theatre's smaller stage, the Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci meets the courtesan Tullia d'Aragona. Three theatre critics have assessed the show differently, yet they point to similar strengths and weaknesses.
Conversation rather than romance
Līga Ulberte describes the production as an educational essay in which aesthetic subtlety alternates with awkward technical solutions. In her view, the characters are linked not by sensual or romantic bonds but by mutually enriching conversations about art, the world and nature. Tullia is played by Aminata Grieta Diarra and da Vinci by Vilis Daudziņš.
Atis Rozentāls notes that the dialogues are mostly compiled from ideas found in published texts, but they do not build a relationship between the characters. He argues that Tullia learns from Leonardo to some extent but ends up wiser, which gives the production a feminist discourse. He sees Diarra's role as a big leap in craftsmanship, while he finds Daudziņš's Leonardo rather simplified.
Henrieta Verhoustinska calls the show one that deliberately slows down time. She observes that the text, distilled from da Vinci's notes, is very dense, and part of the ideas slip past the viewer's perception.
Shared criticism
All three critics name the scene changes as a distraction. Ulberte and Rozentāls say they lengthen and fragment the pace of the show. Verhoustinska mentions a linen curtain with projections of da Vinci's works, behind which the noise of the set changes can be heard. Opinions on the visual design by Krista Vindberga-Auzniece, who is the set, costume and video designer, differ: Rozentāls calls it engaging, while Ulberte points to a clash between the digital projections and the minimalist space.
Verhoustinska gave the production four "apples", saying this is slightly premature, while noting its courage in speaking without irony about the big questions.
