The Lithuanian National Drama Theater invited to hear about the new 78th season in the lobby of the theater, in front of a large stretched awning, informing that behind it, the installation of the new national SPA is still underway. Construction noise could be heard in the lobby. This is how the theater presented the season "After the death of truth".
"The gap between declarations and actions, between promises and deeds, between headlines and content, is widening every day. What is true today? What is said or what is done? Truth is everything and at the same time truth is nowhere. In one way or another, all the performances of the season will explore such situations: between illusion and reality, between opinion and fact, between saying and doing," LNDT General Director Martynas Budraitis explained the concept of the season. According to Budraitis, the news about the establishment of the SPA is an irony and a reflection of what is happening in society and in the media.
After the presentation of the upcoming premieres, the main focus was on the first premiere of the Great Hall of the 78th season - "The Bear", based on Prosper Mérimée's short story "The Bear", the life and work of Bertrand Cantat and Vito Luckaus.
The country where Marie Trintignant was killed
"I read the short story "The Bear" suggested by Martynas Budraitis, and before I knew what I was going to do with it, I said that it was a very strong story. In preparation, Bertrand Cantat appeared. It seems to me that this is the first association that arises when a foreigner hears about Lithuania. My wife is French, for the French, Lithuania is primarily the country where Marie Trintignant was killed.
It makes me very happy that the entire 78th season of the Lithuanian National Drama Theater is called "After the death of the truth", in the rehearsals we first discussed the post-truth situation, the mokumentary method of storytelling, when documentaries and acting are combined.
Merimee's short story "The Bear" is a reflection of post-truth. He imitated a documentary short story, sought to awaken specific emotions of the reader. Used the surname of a real nobleman, which caused a scandal in the nineteenth century. Merimee himself had never visited Lithuania, he created using sources. We also felt like him: we came to Lithuania to tell something about Lithuania, without living here. We realized that we had to bring it very personally to get the right as newcomers to tell these stories.
In each story we focus on a specific subject. In Cantat's case, his media-created image of a monster. The musician says that the worst thing is that he has become a symbol of violence against women. No one knows what actually happened that night, and Cantat himself claims to remember nothing. In Loki, the nobleman Shemeta simply disappears, and we will never know what happened to him either. The life of Vito Luckaus is characterized by a similar tragedy, but in his case, what Luckus said about image and photography seemed more important to us," says director Łukasz Twarkowski.
Rehearsals without a play and without roles
Teklė Kavtaradze, the assistant of playwright Anka Herbut, says that the play does not seek to reveal the real truth, although at first there was such a desire: "The most interesting thing for me is that the basis of the entire dramaturgy of "Bear" was not facts, but the search for the truth. We have been doing this since the first conversations, because at least in the beginning there was a desire to find answers, to understand everything, but the play will only depict an attempt to find the truth, we will not provide answers."
Rehearsals for "Bear" lasted a long time and took place differently than usual - without a play and without divided roles. The director and the entire creative team, who came from Poland, focused primarily on analyzing the material, forming a team, trying to get a feel for each other, not only the actors, but also the director, playwright, composer, author of video projections, choreographer and others participated in all tasks. "We started rehearsing in the winter, then we met again in August. We watched documentaries and documentaries, we talked about the post-truth, of course, about the aforementioned stories. We worked a lot with the choreographer Pawel Sakowicz, we got a lot of movement training tasks to help build the team. We talked a lot. Most of the time, you want to talk less and go and do, but these conversations and film analyzes were very necessary for us. That work charged a big battery for the whole team. On the other hand, working on stage now, we can rehearse very flexibly, move in one direction or another, tilt events from various angles," says actor Vainius Sodeika.
A diverse cast and a lot of equipment
Actress Elžbieta Latėnaitė: "I think it's a big advantage that different actors gathered in Loki, some of them have worked together, but most of us met for the first time. Therefore, a new "chemistry" was created, because when you meet new people, who are not the ones you work with the most, you have to learn a new language, a different expression. It is a great honor for me to be a part of this team assembled by Lukasz, I learn from my colleagues every day. The process is unique in that there is both a theater and cinema and then there is simply being here and now. A very strong sense of team, there are scenes where it is very important to feel each other, especially when one is filming, the others are acting, you have to know where your colleague will move, what he will do. Although it really scares me how much technology there is in this performance (it's easier to trust people), but I hope everything will be fine. The effect of watching the result, which combines theater, cinema and a live person on a giant screen, is very great, so I just envy the audience who will be able to see this performance."
Rytis Saladžius will play the noble Šemeta from Merimee's short story "Bear": "I am very happy that I am playing a Lithuanian. I don't really know if I'm acting, or presenting, or researching, or giving certain guidelines to that character, his qualities. The main feature of Shemet is beastliness, but the environment also shapes a lot in this play. It's not just me as a character, the whole team has an influence. The overall picture comes together only after time, you can't guess what it is in the real moment. And for us actors, these are constant discoveries. The process is very interesting, I have never participated in such a process, everything is alive, happening here and now."
Viewers are invited to become investigators
Nelė Savichenko joined the team a little later and says that she immediately noticed the uniqueness of the team: "On the very first day, this group seemed unique to me with its special atmosphere. Something hovered over those people, something that is not easy to notice at first. Some mutual code. From this I realized that I came late. But I was given all the conditions to fit in, one rehearsal was just for me. And now I see that every member of the troupe is insanely important, his mission in the performance is very important, even if it seems small. You are exactly the same researcher as all the other participants in the play. You are both a researcher, a performer and a momentualist, and if we manage to convince the audience that they can also be researchers, with patience, with imagination, with inner experience, we will have won a very difficult battle. I'm looking forward to this performance and I believe in it."
The premiere of "Bear" will take place in the Great Hall of LNDT on September 14. The play's playwright is Anka Herbut. She is assisted by Tekle Kavtaradze. The scenographer of the performance is Fabien Lédé from France, the costume designer is Dovilė Gudačiauskaitė, the composer is Bogumił Misala, the choreographer is Paweł Sakowicz, the author of visual effects is Jakub Lech, the lighting designer is Eugenijus Sabaliauskas. Cast: Darius Gumauskas, Rytis Saladžius, Vainius Sodeika, Saulius Bareikis, Nelė Savičenko, Elžbieta Latėnaitė, Airida Gintautaitė, Dovilė Šilkaitytė, Gytis Ivanauskas and Arnas Danusas. Sponsors of the show - LR The Ministry of Culture Lithuanian Council of Culture.
Other premieres of the 78th season of the Lithuanian National Drama Theater
#callless
After the premiere of "The Bear", the Lithuanian National Drama Theater will invite you to the performance "#beskambučio" on November 4, which will be held exclusively in schools, but not only for students and teachers. The director of the play, Paulius Tamolė, together with the creative team, dramaturg Augustus Sireikis, scenographer Lauryna Liepaite and the actors, aims to show that the discipline formed by bells in schools, obedience to the will of others, abdication of responsibility also moves to workplaces and affects our lives outside the school walls. The play shown at Salomeja Nėries Gymnasium in Vilnius will invite you to think about what the world would be like without the bell. Later, the performance will also tour schools in smaller cities. Diana Anevičiūtė, Povilas Budrys, Jolanta Dapkūnaitė, Laurynas Jurgelis, Jurga Kalvaitytė, Justina Nemanytė, Kamilė Petrushkevičiūtė, Augustė Pociūtė, Gediminas Rimeika, Salvijus Trepulis, Oskar Vygonovski, Arūnas Vozbutas will play in the play.
DREAMLAND
November 25 Dreamland is set to premiere. The original idea of the show was that it would be the stories of real refugees. The creators of the show - director Mantas Jančiauskas, text creators Rimantas Ribačiauskas and Kristina Savickienė (who wrote the play for the documentary play "Green Lawn") collected material in refugee centers in Lithuania and refugee hotspots in Greece and Macedonia. Now the creators say that the performance has acquired a broader theme, approaching Lithuanian identity and other aspects.
Documentary performance about Šalčininki
In the next half-year - 2018 March 22 The Lithuanian National Drama Theater is planning another documentary performance - this time about Šalčininki. The performance is created on a similar principle to the "Green Lawn" presented in May 2017 based on the stories of the workers of the Ignalina nuclear power plant and residents of Visaginas. Only the actors should not take the stage in the new play, but real people who have lived through the stories told, as in "Green Lawn". The director and author of the concept is Jonas Tertelis.
TESTIMONIALS
in 2018 April 19 will present a one-man show based on the drama "Perodymai" by Korean writer Hailji, who wrote a book about Užupis, where he lived. The play, directed by Artūrs Areima, talks about two realities: the real and the illusory, and the brutal accusations of murdering his brother-in-law, which the respected professor receives, but he himself does not remember much. Povilas Budrys will star in "Shows".
THE PHANTOM OF NORMALITY
In 2018, the Finnish playwright and director Saara Turunen, who presented "Broken Heart Story" in the Small Hall of LNDT four years ago. on May 25, he will return to Vilnius with a new work - "Phantom of Normality". In the performance, the Scandinavian artist examines what it means to be a normal, ordinary person, what is the fear of being different from others. A considerable Finnish team and Lithuanian actors will work in the collage-based performance: Martynas Nedzinskas, Marius Repšys, Gediminas Rimeika, Rasa Samuolytė, Rimantė Valiukaitė.
The discussions will be led by the philosopher Kristupas Sabolius
LNDT visitors can also expect other news. The Monday discussions "Conversations not about the theater" are back with a new moderator. From now on they will be led by the philosopher Kristupas Sabolius. In the first meeting, which will take place on September 11. 18 p.m. he invites discussion on the topic "What is the truth made of?" - about "post-truth", "fake news", the power of "Twitter" and other eternal questions. The discussion partially explaining the season "After the death of the truth" will take place in the theater lobby and will be attended by Vytautas Ališauskas, Mykolas Katkus, Aurelijs Katkevičius.
Discounts for families with many children are even more
Last year, the Lithuanian National Drama Theater presented a novelty - "The Big Family Card". Over a hundred large families have used it. Seeing that the card is relevant, the theater invited other cultural institutions to join its initiative. From the fall of this year, visitors will receive a newly designed plastic "Big Family Card" with which 50% families with many children will receive discounts not only at the Lithuanian National Drama Theater, but also at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and "Skalvijas" cinema center.
LDNT also presents a new one - the Young Man's discount, which is intended for persons aged 7-25. The uniqueness of this benefit is that all young people receive discounts, regardless of whether they are studying or not. It is only necessary to have an identity document proving that the person meets the specified age.
Next season, as before, the national dramaturgy festival "Versmė" will take place (October 24-29), the purpose of which is to promote the creation of new Lithuanian works for the theater and to initiate their appearance on the LNDT stage. Contemporary dramaturgy readings will be held in the spring of 2018. Meetings with the audience after the performances "Auditorija tiria" will return.
