The National Theatre, in the building of which the independent Republic of Latvia was proclaimed in 1918, is a traditional repertory theatre committed to time-proven values; in the new era of market economy and creative competitiveness the theatre company has been known to venture to experiment with unpredictable results.

The Dailes Theatre is the one for you if you are a fan of huge productions of classics, if you go for glamorous musicals, comedies and family shows. Performances of a smaller scale are held in the Lesser Hall or the Chamber Hall.

Whoever you are, you absolutely have to see a performance at the Latvian National Opera! This theatre is attended by kings (who sit in the boxes) and poor students (in the standing room of the second balcony). Since the big renovation the Opera House guarantees that the chandelier is not going to fall down; our local phantom of the opera is of the benign sort. And we have excellent singers!

If you're interested in observing psychologically subtle interactions on stage you should see a production by the Valmiera, Liepāja or Daugavpils theatres. For the last few years these companies have surprised with the most critically-acclaimed productions. There is no such thing as parochialism in art, you know.

If you are a rebel and an intellectual, if you have modern views on classical values, if you belong to the art circles and are prepared to protest against any stereotype you come across, then ― off to the Riga New Theatre! The leader of the company Alvis Hermanis is our best-known stage director in Europe; his modern productions have won acclaim in Germany, France, the U.S.A., Canada, Russia and elsewhere. Tickets to some of the plays directed by Hermanis are sold out two years in advance.