Wednesday, March 4, at At 7:00 p.m., the Daile Theater will visit the “Jūras vārti” theater with the production “He said, she said” directed by Dmitrijs Petrenko, allowing the audience to become observers of the most real trial and decide for themselves who is right.
The production features a versatile ensemble of actors: Kristīne Nevarauska, Andris Bulis, Dainis Gaidelis, Juris Bartkevičs, Lauris Subatnieks, Ieva Segliņa, Indra Briķe, Marta Lovisa Jančevska, Meynards Liepiņš, Inga Alsiņa-Lasmane, Imants Strads and Intars Stilbiņš.
The play by the German author Ferdinand von Schirach is about the relationship between two well-known people, which leads not to “happily ever after”, but to a trial. A successful woman Katarina meets a successful man Christian. They begin an affair. Both are married with children. After a few years, they decide to separate, but chance brings them together again. “This time the physical intimacy was not mutual, but violent,” she said. “That’s not true,” he said. Now the two sit opposite each other in the courtroom as enemies, but their personal lives become public and subject to public scrutiny. In the trial, there is an incredible amount of evidence that literally exposes the two former lovers and their secrets in a thriller-like manner. The court is inclined to believe Katarina’s role as a victim, but only up to a certain point… Who is telling the truth in the end?
“The success of director Dmitry Petrenko is the seemingly rational depiction of the process, during which the viewer is kept under close attention, but is not allowed to stand on one side or the other throughout the performance. Each of those sitting in the hall has silently matured his answer option, but no clear understanding has been heard from the stage. The open finale of the performance clearly shows that the director’s plan has been purposefully carried to the end and, it must be admitted, it also reaches the highest level of audience participation,” theater critic Gundega Saulīte wrote after the premiere of the production at the end of last year.
The author of the play, Ferdinand von Schirach, is a lawyer who has rapidly become one of the most internationally known and prolific German authors of our time. He has created a suspenseful procedural drama about sexuality and boundaries, lies and probabilities, values and prejudices in society. The provocative #MeToo-themed work, which raises controversial questions, including whether a woman is always the victim, has been adapted and successfully staged in many European countries.
The guest performance is organized by SIA “Kurzemes filharmonija” with the support of the municipality of Ventspils and the State Cultural Capital Fund. Tickets can be purchased at all “Bilešu paradize” sales points and on the website bilesuparadize.lv
Photography and video recording is possible during the events. The obtained materials will be used for publicity purposes of the event, on the website and social network accounts of the “Jūras vārti” theater house.
date:2026-02-10 11:27:00