Daile Theater “absolutely acutely and quite dramatically” needs about 700,000 euros to replace obsolete equipment and machinery, said Jail Žagars, director of Daile Theater.
He said that the Daile Theater had done a full study of the building and defined the needs. From them, the acutely necessary things have crystallized, which have been approved by the Ministry of Culture (CM), and are currently being discussed with the Ministry of Finance.
Žagars informed that if the funding is granted, then there will be an opportunity to make various improvements that would help the theater to work economically, efficiently and profitably in the future. One of these plans is to create a separate rehearsal hall the size of the Great Hall stage.
“Currently, rehearsals for performances in the Great Hall take place in unsuitable premises,” said the theater director, stressing that the redevelopment was also planned in the Small Hall, as it was never intended for spectators but for rehearsals.
Žagars expressed hope that in the Small Hall it would be possible to realize a reconstruction with 350 seats and an appropriate floor lift, so that both the audience would enjoy watching the show and it would not be challenging for the director to perform it.
The director of the theater also hopes that he wants to build a mobile partition in the Great Hall, dividing the hall into two variants – a hall for 700 spectators or 1000 spectators. Then, in his opinion, the theater would become more compact.
In general, the theater has a long wish list, and Žagars believes that it is not rational to splurge on it. However, the theater is in dire need of about 700,000 euros. He said that the Ministry of Culture had yet received an oral promise that the ministry was working on it, and that probably in 2021-2022 the theater would receive such funding.
“The theater has not undergone any repairs or improvements to the theatre’s machinery, equipment and work area since 1977. The theater is dramatically obsolete and obsolete to the point where it can sometimes interfere with performances,” said the theater director.
At the same time, at a press conference about the new season of the theater, Žagars informed journalists that the financial position of the theater was stable. It is certainly known that until the end of the year, Daile Theater cannot be threatened by any complications. “This is due to the fact that the government is creating funds to be allocated to all theaters to compensate for ticket revenues and the potential funds that theaters could earn if they could fill a full hall,” Žagars said.
He mentioned that the theater had managed to forecast ticket revenues very accurately, and the plan was even a little crowded. Žagars explained that ticket prices have risen slightly due to restrictions that prevent the theater from filling a full hall with spectators, but this does not deter spectators from purchasing tickets. Tickets are redeemed pretty quickly.
Speaking about the repair works at the Daile Theater, Žagars said that they will end no earlier than November next year.
Žagars also revealed that the National Symphony Orchestra may have moved to the premises of the Daile Theater for two years.
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