Ģirts Rāviņš

Born: 17 September 1975

Born in Riga, Ģirts Rāviņš is the son of pastor Austris Rāviņš. He graduated from the Screen and Theatre Arts Department of the Latvian Academy of Culture in 1997. He has been an actor at Valmiera Drama Theatre since 1997.

Ģirts began his work at Valmiera Theatre performing roles of bright and positive heroes, and his portrayal of the ethically elevated Jānis (Baltais) in Felikss Deičs’s production was a notable achievement. However, it later became clear that positive heroes—roles that naturally suited Ģirts’s presence and kindness—did not truly inspire him, while in character roles his performances became colourful, unpredictable, and rich in imagination.

With pleasure, Ģirts looks beyond the appealing exterior of his characters and discovers an entirely different essence within them—such as the arrogance and illusions of Tālis, a former class star and alcoholic (Cloudy, Possibly Clearing), or the inseparable combination of professional integrity and Don Juan–like charm in the provincial actor Roger.

Ģirts’s great strength is the spoken word: he is a magnificent storyteller in the production The Shadow of Death, and it is through his voice that the text of Virza’s Straumēni reveals itself in complete clarity and beauty. Ģirts himself seeks opportunities to express his creative spirit; he participates in concerts and poetry performances. He conceived and realised a self-discovery session of Ojārs Vācietis’s lyrical hero—the solo performance Concert for an Unaccompanied Voice.