National Theatre to open new season with staging of Eglītis's novel “Bride Hunters”
On September 10, the Latvian National Theatre will open its 108th season with a stage adaptation of Anšlavs Eglītis's novel “Bride Hunters,” directed by Paula Pļavniece — the first-ever theatrical production of the popular interwar-era book.
The Latvian National Theatre will open its 108th season on September 10 with a new production based on Anšlavs Eglītis's novel “Bride Hunters” (“Līgavu mednieki”). The staging marks the writer's 120th anniversary and is the first-ever theatrical adaptation of this widely read interwar-period novel to appear on a Riga stage. Billed as a “marriage saga,” the production combines Eglītis's witty portrayal of 1930s Riga society with a contemporary perspective on young people's choices.
The novel is set during the first period of Latvian independence, a time of economic growth and expanding social life, when wealthy Latvian entrepreneurs moved into Riga's grand city-centre apartments alongside Baltic Germans and threw lavish balls for their children in search of advantageous marriages. Eglītis depicted this world with humor while also exposing his characters' vanity and naivety.
Director's vision
Director Paula Pļavniece, working with designers Kristaps Kramiņš and Berta Vilipsone, has created a visually vibrant, grotesque stage world, deliberately moving away from minimalism. She notes that while the theme of “hunting” for a bride might seem outdated today, the production is ultimately a coming-of-age story about a generation searching for its own values within a system whose rules were already set by those before them.
Creative team and cast
The stage adaptation was written by Klāvs Mellis, with set design by Kristaps Kramiņš, costumes by Berta Vilipsone, choreography by Sintija Skrabe, music by Miķelis Putniņš, and lighting design by Oskars Pauliņš.
The Surģenieks family is played by Egons Dombrovskis, Daiga Gaismiņa, Raimonds Celms, Laura Siliņa and Jana Ļisova, while the “bride hunters” are portrayed by Matīss Kučinskis, Igors Šelegovskis, Rūdolfs Sprukulis and Gusts Ābele. Other National Theatre actors and members of the student organization “Kubezele” also appear in the production.
