New Riga Theatre Stages Inga Ābele’s Windmills in Latvian
Alvis Hermanis stages Inga Ābele’s play Windmills (Windmill) for the first time in Latvian at the Jaunais Rīgas Teātris. Written originally in 2010, the text explores the 20th-century history of Latvia through the death of 94-year-old Vējkalnu Glorija and the family secrets uncovered as relatives gather for her funeral.
Personal Roots and Previous Productions
Author Inga Ābele stated in the production’s program notes that the play grew from a deeply personal impulse following the 2007 death of her grandmother and her brother’s refusal to accept mortality. Mihails Gruzdovs previously directed the work at the Mihaila Čehova Rīgas Krievu teātris in 2011 under the title Good blood, featuring stylized windmill wings overgrown with weeds designed by Mārtiņš Vilkārs.
Design Choices and Symbolic Elements
Alvis Hermanis and lighting designer Niks Cipruss created an interior mill space featuring roughly 300 dried tea or bath whisks hanging from high rafters, which Edvarts Virza’s program quotation identifies as symbols of the Latvian soul. Marina Nasardinova noted in a Facebook review that while the production maintains an atmosphere of respectful beauty, its even rhythm introduces distance between the play and live experience.
Character Portrayals and Ensemble Performances
The production features prominent performances, including Zane Daudziņa as the ailing former collective farm chairwoman Nele and Jānis Skutelis as the pragmatic neighbor Juris, who shares traits with Lopakhin from Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Liena Šmukste returns to the stage as the matriarch Glorija, while Gerds Lapoška portrays the poet Georgs Meller, whose final exchange with Kristīne Krūze’s character Nina centers the production on the necessity of love. Andris Keišs infuses his limping Osvalds with the spark of a life-beaten, good-natured grumbler, whereas Sandra Kļaviņa as his sister Žanna resembles the spirited, straightforward Līzi from Indrani, albeit with more suffering in her past.
Visual Staging and Production Approach
These gazes into the distance, seemingly suited to a symbolic drama—undoubtedly, in Alvis Hermanis’s vision, Inga Ābele’s play is a symbolic drama—render the relationships of the production’s characters dry and devoid of depth.