In 2025, Liepāja Theatre launched a new tradition by organising the first international theatre festival “Theatre Up Close”. The festival took place over four days in August, offering audiences five performances from Finland, Lithuania and Poland, as well as an additional programme featuring discussions on theatre, presentations of performance concepts, readings of plays developed during playwright residencies and other activities. The festival was created to introduce audiences to the processes behind theatre-making, while also providing theatre professionals and enthusiasts with time and space to reflect on the developments and challenges of contemporary theatre.
This year, the tradition continues as Liepāja Theatre invites audiences to the second “Theatre Up Close” festival, taking place from 20 to 23 August. The programme will feature six international performances: two from Lithuania — “The Return” by Klaipėda Drama Theatre on 20 August and “The Unseen World” by Šokio Theatre on 23 August; two from Estonia — “Kindergarten” by Rakvere Theatre on 21 August and “Every Day Is Like Sunday” by Von Krahl Theatre on 22 August; one from Finland — “The Rabbit Hole Residents” by Jurkka Theatre on 21 August; and one from Sweden — “Beach Patrol” by theatre company SWEETS on 22 August.
The festival will conclude with Liepāja Theatre’s production “An Ordinary Monday”, presented in an unusual setting. The production is normally staged in Liepāja Theatre’s Small Hall at the “Great Amber” Concert Hall, but during the festival it will be transferred to the main stage of Liepāja Theatre, where the audience will share the stage with the actors.
This year, performances and events will once again take place at several venues — not only at Liepāja Theatre and the Small Hall of the Concert Hall “Great Amber”, but also at the Culture House “Wiktorija”, where the event “Directing Sketches and Play Readings” will take place on 23 August as a continuation of Liepāja Theatre’s summer residencies for playwrights.
“By inviting performances from countries around the Baltic Sea region, we allow our audiences to discover the diverse and fascinating ways in which theatre artists in our neighbouring countries work. At the same time, Liepāja Theatre becomes an important meeting point for theatre professionals — a place to get to know one another, find inspiration and perhaps develop new ideas for future collaborations,” says the festival’s artistic director, Valters Sīlis.
“The selected performances reflect on a world in which we simultaneously live in a reality filled with our own dramas while searching for different forms of escape within our individual realities. At our festival, theatre itself is seen up close, offering an opportunity to experience many compelling performances by actors across the full spectrum of their craft,” he adds.
Tickets for performances cost EUR 22, while tickets for the directing sketches and readings cost EUR 4. Audiences are also invited to a meeting with the actors recognised in the 119th audience vote and Liepāja Theatre’s artistic director, Valters Sīlis, with free admission passes available in advance. Information about tickets and the programme is available here.
The full festival programme is available on the Liepāja Theatre website in the “FESTIVAL 2026” section. Theatre professionals are also invited to attend the festival by completing the application form on the theatre’s website by 17 May; performance tickets will be available to them at a special price.
The project “Liepāja Theatre Festival ‘Theatre Up Close’” is implemented as part of the “Liepāja 2027” programme with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture, the City of Liepāja, and the municipalities of Dienvidkurzeme and Kuldīga.