River Tours. Daugava
Stan's cafe, Lucy Bird, Diāna Kondraša, Rvīns Varde, Ūna Laukmane (UK/Latvia)Spend an absorbing forty-five minutes exploring the beautiful River Daugava in the company of a witty grass snake (performed by Eduards Beļnikovs). You will be guided from the Baltic Sea up the river through centuries of history, stories of flooded towns, folklore, hydroelectric dams, migrating wildlife and human incidents.
Written by Diāna Kondraša and Rvīns Varde, your journey is illustrated by a stunning textile map created by Ūna Laukmane and features original music by Aleksandrs Maijers.
This beautifully simple piece of documentary storytelling is made in collaboration with UK theatre company Stan’s Cafe. It is the eighth river in their River Tours series.
Stan’s Cafe have been creating and touring original theatre for more than three decades. They were last in Latvia with their acclaimed rice installation Of All The People In All The World in 2016.
4 September at 18.00 Krāslava, Market Square
5 September at 15.00 Naujene, Juzefovas Park
6 September at 14.00 Daugavpils, Bruģu Street Promenade
6 September at 18.00 Daugavpils, Cietokšņa Promenade
7 September at 18.00, Aizkraukle municipality, Liepsalas
8. September at 14.00 Līvāni, Līvāni Glass Museum
8 September at 18.00 Jēkabpils, 56°29’55.3″N 25°52’03.1″E
10 September at 16.00 Staburags, “Daugavas kuģi”
11 September at 12.00 Riga, Strazdumuiža
EASY READ VERSION
“River Tours” is a series of theatre performances.
“River Tours” tells about rivers around the world.
“Daugava” is the eighth performance in this series.
Diāna Kondraša and Rvīns Varde
wrote the story.
Eduards Beļņikovs plays the grass snake.
Aleksandrs Maijers composed the music.
The English theatre “Stan’s Cafe” helped the Latvian team.
A clever grass snake tells Daugava’s story.
The story begins in the Gulf of Riga.
Then the grass snake talks about
the life of the river:
– in different places;
– in different times.
A special textile map accompanies the story.
The map is made of fabric, so you can see
and touch the shape of the river.
ABOUT ARTISTS
We are Stan’s Cafe, a theatre company based in Birmingham, UK. We are playful with form and serious about ideas. Each project starts with an idea we want to explore – then we find the form that does it justice. This means that although our work can appear wildly varied it all comes from the same place. We love collaborating, touring the world, working with schools and helping other artists. We started in 1991 and are as excited as we have ever been. Check out our social media feeds, we share a mini new artwork almost every day.
VEIDOTĀJI
Created by: Stan’s Cafe collaborating with Diāna Kondraša and Rvīns Varde
Directed by: Lucy Bird
Map and costume design: Ūna Laukmane
Performed by: Eduards Beļnikovs
Music: Aleksandrs Maijers
Local Producer: Ieva Briede (New Theatre Institute of Latvia)
Touring Producer: Marina Ivanova (New East)
accessibility
Mobility and environment
The entrance is accessible to people who use wheelchairs
Sensory environment
This is a relaxed performance. Audience members may enter or leave the performance at any time. The performance does not contain any significant sensory stimuli.
Relaxed performances are created with the needs of a neurodivergent audience in mind. During relaxed performances, people can move around, change their seats, walk out, and return if needed. We invite everyone to accept that the audience’s behavior could be freer than we are used to.
Availability of information
On 11 September at Strazdumuiža, there will be a tactile tour at 11.30 a.m. and a performance with audio description at 12.00 p.m.
On 11 September in Riga, there will be a performance with sign language interpretation at 17:00.
Support
At the entrance, visitors will be greeted by a festival volunteer, who will accompany them to the venue and provide assistance if needed.
The performance is co-produced by the New Theatre Institute of Latvia and Stan’s Cafe. It is financially supported by the EU programme “Creative Europe” as part of the “The Big Green” project, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, and Arts Council England. The performance is part of the project “KKC – Development of a Community Cultural Centre for Social Cohesion”, No. 4.3.2.0/1/25/A/044. The regional tour of the performance is financially supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation and its target programme “Development Programme for Latvia’s Historical Lands”. The New Theatre Institute of Latvia is responsible for the content of the performance.
Accessibility of the performance is co-funded as part of the Riga City Social Integration Programme.
Date
Length
Location
Language
Accessibility
Notes
The performance takes place outdoors.
Audience members are free to move about during the performance.
On 11 September at Strazdumuiža – a tactile tour at 11.30 and a performance with audio description at 12.00.
On 11 September in Riga at 17.00 – a performance with sign language interpretation.