New Riga Theatre
Latvia's leading contemporary drama company in a restored 1902 society house on Lacplesa Street
The New Riga Theatre was founded in 1992 and has become the best known Latvian company abroad, largely through productions by Alvis Hermanis, its artistic director since 1997. Its work ranges from documentary theatre drawn from interviews with Latvians to adaptations of prose and reworked classics, and it tours widely in Europe. Performances are given in Latvian, with surtitles in English for part of the repertoire, and the company also appears at international festivals.
The theatre occupies a building of 1902 on Lacplesa Street, originally raised as a society house with a hall for the Riga Latvian craftsmen. Between 2018 and 2024 the complex was reconstructed to designs by the practice of Zaiga Gaile: the street facade and historic interiors were restored while new stages, workshops and public spaces were added behind. The rebuilt theatre received a Latvian Architecture Award, and it now has a large auditorium, a small hall and studio spaces.
Highlights
- Home company of the director Alvis Hermanis since 1997
- 1902 society house restored and extended between 2018 and 2024
- Large auditorium, small hall and studio stages
- Latvian-language repertoire with English surtitles for some shows
