The Dailes teātris theater is to get a new team in charge of running it after the Ministry of Culture announced the appointment January 23 of actor and entrepreneur Juris Žagars as chairman of the theater's board with stage and film director Viesturs Kairišs taking the role of creative director.
Žagars was recognized as the best of the 13 candidates in the competition announced following the announcement of the resignation of former Director Andris Vitols.
For many years, Juris Žagars has worked as an actor, but has also been director of the Vidzeme Concert Hall in Cēsis and the Cēsis Art Festival as well as running the popular skiing center “Žagarkalns”.
Žagars himself announced that the acclaimed Kairišs would also be on board, and the previous job title of Artistic Director would be changed to Creative Director at the same time.
"Of course it is still hope at the moment, but Viesturs' program and ideas on repertoire could ensure that we somehow resonate with what is happening in society at the moment, with the emotional feeling that exists in Latvia."
"At least my experience at the Cēsis Concert Hall and the Cēsis Arts Festival has shown that regularly showing a good product and monitoring the quality very closely can get the people emotionally involved and ready to return to the theater for serious projects.”
The Dailes theater was founded in 1920 by Eduards Smiļģis, the most significant figure in the history of Latvian theater. Smiļģis shaped the theater's style for more than forty years. The theater regularly stages guest productions throughout Latvia. Each year the Dailes theater stages about 15-18 new productions in a 1,000-seat Large Hall, a 200-seat Small Hall and 80-seat Chamber Hall.
As previously reported by LSM, the previous management of the theater had a serious falling out with the actors.
