Festival Theatre
ei‘hapx )otiWe i'eathed that age where
the hangoxei‘x ha\e got a little longei.
where what uxed to he a iiuld headaehe lor a eouple ol houix lit the morning hax pi'ogrexxed to a ttaxl} nauxeoux leehng all da_\ ()1 maxhe _\ou notteed _\ou neie a hit xltt\\el ehaxing that hux thix nioining. a tad moie hieathlexx \i.hen )oti ieaehed u. laeh ot thexe tri\ial xtgnatuiex ol tmld deerepitude might. uhen )ttll think ahout ll. aet ax a kind ol HI(‘/)I('/l/II IIIIII‘I. Izaeh da} \\ e h\e putx ux one xtep eloxei to the purxumg gra\ e. and eaeh xign ol age plaeex ux that httle xtep eloxei to thoxe \er} old people \xho \\ e xee hohhhng ahout in our eommumt}. \xho a\\ail the end \\|Ill eaeh IMfl\}eahxeahhdar
\one ol \xhieh \\lll ptit )ou in a partieularl) merr} mood tor the I'L‘\ll\&tl. Yet tlieiex mote to he xaid lor the ageing pi‘oeexx than thix might mdieale. ’l'here'x a promixe ol a eeitain redemptixe heaut} in the may old that liex at the lteart ol the Inteinalional I‘exti\al xhimpieee lrom the ne\\ Riga 'l'heati‘e ol l,at\ia. 'lhix pieee. de\ixed h_\ the eonipan_\. uhieh xeex the li\ex ol old people reprexented in a \\ttl'tlle\x perlormanee ax the} mo\ e \lo\\ I} ahout their home. hax alread} toured \\ itli xome dixtinetion. ’l‘hix. itx premier in the litlgllxll xpeaking \xorld. ix mueh antieipated.
The original inxpiration lor the xtoi'_\ eame at a hixtorie moment tor direetoi‘ .v\l\ ix llermitax‘ nati\e l.at\ia. hut one \xhieh \\e in the \Vext ha\e heen inelined to gloxx tt\L‘l' \xith mueh xmug eelehration ol~ xomething \\ e ealled demoerae}. uhieh had xome ugl_\ praetieal iinplieationx. In a doeument produeed a while haek. llermitax eommented: '.-\x I \\;l\ onee told h} a l'ormer prime minixter ol’ l.at\ ia. during the tranxition period to eapitalixm. one ol' the eonditionx xet h} the international eeonomie inxtitutionx t\\ho monitored the eeonomie tranxl‘ormation ol liaxt lauropean eountriex) \\a\ that thexe pttot‘ xttllex Ililtl lti xaeritiee their aged penxionerx and the mone} \\ax to he xpent on inxextmentx hut not on penxionx. 'l‘hux all the people ol' m_\ parentx’ age heeame outeaxtx. In laet xoeiet) eeonomieall} ixolated them and put in a eondition ol eeonomie e\periment that
rexemhled a realit_\ xho\\ \xith unelear rulex ol~
the gatne \thether the winner \\;1x one \\lltt died lirxt or laxt. ()ur p|a_\ pro\idex a unique oppot‘ltlttil} to heeome a \tithx to thix "/oologieal gardenm
lt‘x the kind ol‘ grim xtor_\ ol‘ inequalit}. eruelt} and ideologieal higoti'} that \\ e \\ere. l‘or politieal reaxonx. told little ahout in the
Longtime passing
Steve Cramer talks to Alvis Herminas, director of the EIF premiere of Long Life, a piece about the aged
and how we treat them.
.. 4 ,‘
0
’x
\\'ext; giuxt another xilent erime eommitted h} hankerx, lint il thix \xax the xtarting point. llei'minax ax I xpoke to hitn more reeentl} on the telephone \\ax keen to emphaxixe the hroader appeal ol~ a xtor_\ ahout old people. \xhieh lai' e\eeedx itx immediate eultural relereneex. 'lt‘x ahout man_\ thingx. not partieularl} the politieal eonte\t. We did a [k‘rl'ormanee ahout e\ti‘eiiieh old people. and
‘OUR PLAY IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS THIS ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN'
it'x reall} ahout age itxell. \o mallet ho\\ mueh mone_\ _\ou haxe. it doexn‘t make an} dilleienee \xhen _\ou're \er_\ old.' he xa}x.
'Iilte \\ttl'tllL‘\\IlL‘\\ Hl llte authentieatex our e\pet'ienee ol the old. aeeoi‘ding to llerminax. Illt'lL' ix eei'tainl) a xenxe in \xhieh \xe render older lolkx xilent h_\ ignoring them. or mediating oui eott\et‘x;tlitiltx in partieular \\;i)x. 'lt makex xenxe heeauxe old people either talk too mueh oi" thex don't talk at all.‘ xa}x llerniinax. ‘(ine ol our aetoix hax a heautilul xtor} li‘om hix oun lainil} lite. .'\II the men in hix lamiI} li‘om generationx haek reaeh a eerlain age. ahout (ill )t‘git'x old. then xtop talking. 'l'here'x a real poetieal po\\ er in that.‘
'l'hix ix an unorthodo\ xlitl'}. \\het'e the xet and propx tell ux lar more than an_\ xpoken theatre eould. llerininax relleetx upon the ohieetx uxed to eontrihute to the xel. "l he \eellt’fll’allll} til the pei'lormanee ix e\eeptionall_\ unportant.‘ he xa_\x. ‘ln thix xho\\. \xe lta\e thouxandx and thouxandx ol ohieetx and thingx that helonged to real people. 'l'he_\ \\ ere not pi'odueed in theatre \torkxhopx. We got permixxion lrom the eit} ol' Riga to go to the apartinentx ol lonel} old people \\lltt had died. We got thingx lrom their apartinentx. 'l'here are thouxandx ol thingx l'rom grandmotherx and grandlatherx. e\en our aetor'x lainiliex and in_\ mm lainil}. lt'x a real inxtallation ol real thingx. l:\er} ohieet hax itx oun hixtor}; e\ en an emotional hixtor}. lhet'e are e\ en old photox that people look when the} \\ ere tourixtx ahroad.‘
'lhix idea ol' a li\ing textament to the dead through ohieetx inxerihed \xith the hixtor} ol real people ix one that hax a pou er all itx (Mil. l'or all the eruel proelamationx ol~ t}rannoux eeonomie x_\ xtemx. human xtoi'iex lixe on. See thix one it )ttll \xant to aeeept old age. )ourx in the l‘uture. and xome people’x mm.
pteee. ltiti.
Long Life, The Hub, 473 2000, until 2 Sep (not 29 Aug), 7.30pm (£15).
' THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 95