When you were one or two years old, your mother sang lullabies to you. You didn't understand the meaning of the words, but you grasped the syllables like splashes of color. You grasped them and learned the song. Many years have passed. You can still see those splashes in your mind. And you see your mother. A performance about the strange nature of the human brain and the nature of memory.
The Valley of Astonishment
The Valley of Astonishment (Apbrīnas ieleja), 2026
New Riga Theatre, Small Hall
CREDITS
Cast
Guna ZariņaVilis DaudziņšGerds Lapoška
Director
Matīss Kaža
Authors
Peter BrookMarie-Helene EstienneAlexander Luria
Dramaturg
Elza Marta Ruža
Stage and Costume Designer
Reinis Dzudzilo
Composer
Elīza Dombrovska
Lighting Designer
Niks Cipruss
Choreographer
Ramona Levane
STILLS
Matīss Kaža
Matīss Kaža is an Academy Award-winning Latvian producer, director and writer. He is best known for co-writing and producing the animated feature film FLOW (2024) by Gints Zilbalodis, which won the first ever Golden Globe and Oscar for an independent animated feature. Recent producing credits include SISTERS (2022, Warsaw Film Festival 1+2 Competition Winner) by Linda Olte, DROWNING DRY (2024, two awards in the Locarno Main Competition) by Laurynas Bareiša.
Matīss has directed and written for live action, documentary and the theatre, including NEON SPRING (2022, Edinburgh Intl. Film Festival) and critically acclaimed performances at the Latvian National Theatre, like SOFT POWER (2023) and THE NATIONAL NETWORK (2025).
He teaches film directing at the Latvian Academy of Culture.
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© 2026 Matīss Kaža