Sprīdītis

In 1903, the Riga Latvian Theatre asked Anna Brigadere (1861–1933) to translate a play suitable for a Christmas production for the whole family. The writer instead decided to write an original work, and Sprīdītis, the first of her popular fairy-tale plays, was created to great acclaim. For more than a hundred years, Brigadere’s story of the spirited, curious, selfless boy with a big heart has continued to inspire new interpretations. But is the heart like a little diamond egg? To awaken his somewhat drowsy heart and curb his pride, Sprīdītis must overcome all kinds of obstacles: guarding the sons of the Mother of the Wind, freeing children lost in the forest from Lutaušis, outwitting Sīkstulis, and finally defeating the devil himself. Only then does he receive his reward: understanding that happiness was not to be found very far away after all.

For director Reinis Suhanovs, Sprīdītis is a personal work about returning. The more observant may notice that Suhanovs’s Sprīdītis makes a good pairing with his previous production at Valmiera Theatre, Blaumanis’s The Lost Son—but this is a story with a happy ending. Unlike Krustiņš, Sprīdītis will be found! “It will be a story about growing up and a child’s adventure-filled arrival in the adult world,” says director Reinis Suhanovs.

The production received a 2024/2025 season Spēlmaņu nakts nomination in the category of [category not specified].

This production was created with the support of the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation during Valmiera Theatre’s 2024/2025 season. With the Foundation’s support, the following productions reached audiences in the 2026/2027 season: Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (director Indra Roga). In the 2025/2026 season: The Evil Spirit (director Inese Mičule), Medea (director Reinis Suhanovs), You Will Be Mine! (director Jānis Znotiņš), and Skroderdienas Silmačos (director Elmārs Seņkovs). In the 2024/2025 season: Romeo and Juliet (director Inese Mičule), Zilā (director Māra Ķimele), Sprīdītis (director Reinis Suhanovs), Four White Shirts (director Jānis Znotiņš), and The Magic Mountain (director Toms Treinis).

The theatre and the Foundation began their partnership in the 2023/2024 season, the theatre’s centenary, when four classics of Latvian dramaturgy were staged: Valmiera Boys (director Jānis Znotiņš), The Widow’s Son (director Viesturs Roziņš), and the productions that received particular acclaim from audiences and critics, Joseph and His Brothers (director Inese Mičule) and The Lost Son (director Reinis Suhanovs).

Photo: Matīss Markovskis