Valmiera Theater actors Elīna Vāne and Aigars Apinis take the main roles in Inese Mičule’s production “Good People”.
Publicity (Matīsa Markovskis) photo
Ieva Rodiņa, “kroders.lv”, “Kultūrzīmes”, JSC “Latvijas Mediji”
The Valmiera Drama Theater has partially undergone reconstruction, keeping the Round Hall open to spectators. The hall’s August and September repertoire includes works by both young directors – the joint work of the creative team “Pride of Latvia. And Prejudice ”and the stage version created by Ilze Bloka for Māra Zālīte’s play” Living Water “- as well as works by directors already known to Valmiera audiences, such as Reina Suhanov’s performance” Family “and Inese Mičule’s production” Good People “.
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Interest in award-winning American original drama, which includes both Stephen Karam’s play “The Humans” (Latvian as “Family”), David Lindsay-Eber’s work “Good People”, and J. J. Tracy Lats’ play “Osage County”, which premiered in the Great Hall in the spring of Gillinger’s spring, vibrates in the Latvian theater from time to time.
Among other things, the name Lindsay-Ebere could be known to Latvian viewers from 2013, when the playwright’s play “Rabbit Cave” was staged at the National Theater by Kārlis Krūmiņš (at that time the author’s surname was translated into Latvian as Lindsejs-Ebairs).
Contemporary American drama is appealing with its straightforward approach to social issues, highlighting the ruthless cross-section of society of its time and emphasizing various “awkward” themes, as well as the emotional upliftment of the protagonist’s relationship, which offers great roles for actors. At the same time, American plays are associated with local color – their symbolic message is often closely linked to very specific realities of the scene and the environment, which may not be easily recognizable to the Latvian viewer.
Director Inese Mičule, when staging Lindsay-Ebero’s play “Good People”, basically adheres to the author’s description of the environment, which focuses on the stratification between the poor and rich areas of South Boston. Only the ethnic origin of Dr. Michael’s wife Kate has experienced localization – while in the play Kate is an African-American, in the Valmiera theater version she has become a Russian, closer to the Latvian context. Meanwhile, many of the geographical names mentioned by the characters slip by their ears, without creating specific associations, and in some places it seems that the acting would have gained ease if the script of the show had been edited a little more safely by the director’s pencil.
Margaret of Elīna Vāne is an image that embodies an almost naturalistic determination – rationally weighing all the pros and cons, the heroine herself clearly understands that her destiny – not to get out of the environment in which she was born – has not been changed. As a caregiver and breadwinner for an adult daughter, she lost her job and could not find a way out, Margaret is at the lowest point of her life. In the visual image of the heroine, the costume designer Agnese Kaupere has emphasized the dress mentioned in the text in humanitarian aid clothes, risking to make Margaret an awkward comic image, which is saved by the actress’ ability to play and inhabit even the strangest costumes.
Meanwhile, the first love of her youth – Michael of Aigars Apins – has reached the elite of society from an equal starting position and pushed its roots out of consciousness. The accidental clash of these two worlds becomes a test for both Margaret and Michael, in both cases realizing that maintaining humanity, kindness, and self-esteem goes beyond desperate steps or building a career at the expense of family relationships.
The Lindsay-Ebere play gradually grows into conflict, showing in the original exposition the circumstances that influenced Margaret’s complex and impulsive character. In the almost three-hour show, Elīna Vāne masterfully does not lose her concentration and dynamics of inner activity for a moment. The actress manages to discover more and more new edges of the character and feminine strangeness, gradually bribing the viewer with tasteful self-irony, which is manifested both in body language and in the manner of speech.
Meanwhile, the surrounding characters of the show serve more as a background for telling the main story. Aigars Apiņš’s portrayal in the role of Michael is distinctly introverted, and it seems that even in the most dramatic scenes of the performance, the actor maintains a reserved distance between himself and the role, without yet fully revealing the full depth of the role. Dace Evers’ Jenny and Baiba Valante Dottiya’s comic show brings comic notes, becoming active advisors, whose good intentions often lead to an exacerbation of the situation. Psychologically, the image of Steve, which Rihards Jakovels portrays as a somewhat strange guy, about whom we learn very little during the show, is not completely resolved – for example, the question of why he pulls out different sweetened drinks from his backpack one after another remains unanswered.
The young actress Diāna Krista Stafecka plays the episodic role of Michael’s wife Kate. Dressed in a bright costume, restrained and elegant in body language, the heroine she portrays essentially becomes a “lightning conductor” for Michael and Margaret’s conflict, but the actress grows a seemingly stenciled image into an interesting, nuanced woman, for both stage partners.
“Good People” is a show centered on actors and the psychological images they create. The visual image of the production created by Agnese Kaupere – scenography and costumes – ideologically tries to support the ideas and social stratification included in the play. With the help of Gatas Priednieks-Melnačs’ light score and arrangement of decorations, the stage space is conditionally divided into four activity sockets, which mark different environments – the shop from which Margaret is fired, Michael’s doctor’s office, Margaret’s apartment, bingo hall, Michael and his wife’s house.
The unifying object of scenography is silver tubes, which run through the whole room, in the respective episode here become the barriers of the store ‘s warehouse, here – the elements of the interior. At times, however, it seems that the scenography makes it difficult for the director to build a mise-en-scène, for example, in a bingo scene, where the actors have to fight with a hanging houseplant several times in order to sit at the game table.
Inese Mičule’s production brings the viewer into the world of women’s feelings and thoughts and marks the paradox of life, where misunderstandings and victories, problems and joy, friendship and conflict are closely related. Above all, there is a clear message that can be taken with the viewers – about people who keep the good in any life situation.
Themes
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