The director has called the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale production a horror fairy tale. “Grimmi” is the second of his intended trilogy performances at the Liepāja Theater, which will continue the search for aesthetics that has already begun at Shakespeare – cynicism, the joy of the game and blood.
Of course, no artist at the moment can ignore the war that is taking place right next door in Ukraine. “We are aware that we are playing the show in the context of this horror. Two years ago, horror scenes might seem self-serving in art – why do we show it when all is well? That is exactly what we need to show now, because we live in a world of horror. Believe me, what we are showing on stage is not as terrible as it is in reality. Always remind yourself of it and when you watch the show, remind it that it is a theater, thank God, a theater! ” E. Senkovs addresses the audience.
Unlike classical dramatic tales, Matīss Budovskis, the director’s assistant, gives the opportunity to play and have fun.
The show will feature several popular Grimm tales. “We have a narrator who will bring them into them. There are also many etudes and scenes formed from different fairy tales, but the viewer is likely to perceive the story, the message, but ends will not be able to tighten, ”he notes.
Both have read about two hundred fairy tales. “The Grimm tales we’re reading today have actually turned into something completely different, a version of Disney in children’s books. At the beginning, they were much more cruel, unfinished, less specific, ”says E. Senkovs.
“Parents often improvise by telling children fairy tales. I caught myself starting a fairy tale, but I don’t know how to finish it, because sleep is coming. In sleep, the subconscious comes closer, fantastic ideas emerge from it.
Any process of creation is subconscious, we reflect what is within us. The question of how we come up with such ideas is often unanswered. It is our experience that may even extend to the gene level. ”
Both the director and the assistant point out that the production is the purest creation in which the entire team of actors is involved. They did not want to limit themselves by setting up a specific structure or scheme in advance. “If you take a finished material, you always want to interpret it. In this case, we can create everything again, ”says E. Senkovs.
Although the material was chosen by the director about a year ago, the production began at the same time as the war. “At this time, in my opinion, nothing can be more appropriate than for us adults to think about fairy tales with a happy ending, to look for sincerity and humanity around us,” emphasizes M. Budovskis. “The way Reinis Suhanovs built the space, how Edgar Maken wrote the music and how the actors play, I have never seen anything like it before. With such a newly created form, there are fewer questions today than if we packed it all up nicely and showed fairy tales without a moment’s grasp. ”
E. Senkovs has noticed that everyday people are entangled in their political correctness and can no longer distinguish what is good, they try to justify everything and argue until they do not understand where evil arises.
“If we are aware of our dark side, it is easier to work with it, we are no longer afraid. Just wondering how difficult it is to win a good victory? I show in the show that it is not easy, it is a way to grow, ”says the director.
What will be the last part of the trilogy and when? The director doesn’t want to promise anything because the world is changing too fast. However, the show will be associated with ancient Greek myths, a return to the origins of European culture.
Actors Inese Kučinska, Egons Dombrovskis, Edgars Pujāts, Viktors Ellers, Agnese Jēkabsone, Rolands Beķeris, Ilze Trukšāne, Madara Kalna, Hugo Puriņš, Kārlis Ērglis, Kintija Stūre, Madara Vilčuka and Valts Skuja are participating in the play “Grimmi”.
