The Baltic Visual Theatre Showcase Comes to Latvia for the First Time
From 22 to 24 May, the Baltic Visual Theatre Showcase (BVTS) will take place in Latvia for the first time, bringing together the finest visual theatre productions created in the Baltic region in recent years.
BVTS is the largest visual theatre event in the Baltics, showcasing a wide range of techniques such as puppetry, object theatre, sound design, movement, and visual storytelling. The Showcase reveals the diversity, richness, and creative potential of contemporary visual theatre in the Baltic region.
Martiņš Eihe, Director of the Latvian Puppet Theatre and one of the organizers of the Showcase, says: “The Showcase is outstanding from every perspective! Thanks to the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation (SCCF), it is financially accessible; every viewer can find a performance suited to them — from audiences as young as six months old. The programme includes both classics, such as Shakespeare, and stories that speak directly to today, told in the most contemporary theatrical language possible. The Showcase is a close-up of the present moment!”
BVTS presents a carefully curated selection of innovative and interdisciplinary performances from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. This year, for the first time, the programme will also include a pre-festival day, featuring a special selection of visual theatre performances by artists from Finland. The Showcase offers productions for the very youngest audiences as well as for adults, inviting spectators of all generations to experience the best of Baltic visual theatre.
In 2026, BVTS is organized by the Latvian Puppet Theatre, marking the third edition of the Showcase. The first edition took place in Estonia in 2022, followed by Lithuania in 2024. BVTS is highly regarded internationally and within the professional theatre community and will be attended by theatre professionals and producers from various European countries.
Participating theatres include: Kaunas State Puppet Theatre, Klaipėda Puppet Theatre, and Vilnius Puppet Theatre “Lėlė” representing Lithuania; performances from VAT Theatre and the Estonian Youth Theatre representing Estonia; and Finland will be represented by the creative team of “Babygonia”, a joint project by Tehdas Theatre and Grus Grus Theatre. Latvia will be represented by the Latvian Puppet Theatre, Liepāja Puppet Theatre, and KVADRIFRONS.
Please note: Showcase performances will take place at three different venues — the Latvian Puppet Theatre, Ģertrūdes ielas Theatre, and the Riga Circus.
Tickets for performances will be available from 4 February at bilesuparadize.lv and on the Latvian Puppet Theatre website.
The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.
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