The Beasts Are Restless

In the dark of the night a young man waits for someone. Hateful stares pierce through the apartment walls. What are these nightly shapes that scrape against the door and long to get in?

The musical performance The Beasts Are Restless examines the struggles of what it means to be young and find your voice in a suppressive environment. Based on the life of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, it explores the duality of the creative drive to follow the avant-garde whilst fighting the fear induced by the governing state. The Beasts is set in the former elephant stables of the Riga Circus.

Director: Martin Mutschler/ MEMBRA

Concept and dramaturgy: Evarts Melnalksnis

Actor: Āris Matesovičs

Dancers: Simona Orinska, Ieva Putniņa

String quartet: Madara Gaile, Līva Plociņa - Janova, Māra Botmane (Sinfonietta Rīga), Pēteris Trasuns (LNSO)

Scenography and costumes: Anda Skrējāne

Light design: Jūlija Bondarenko

Photos: Līga Spunde and Mareks Bluzmanis

Space: Riga Circus, Elephant stables / Rīga, LV