The play "Leading" (directed by Mantas Jančiauskas, playwright Rimantas Ribačiauskas), produced by the arts agency "Artscape", which was awarded the special "Boris Dauguvietis Earring" at the "Golden Stage Crosses", announces its first performances of 2025 in Vilnius and Pravieniškės prisons.
The first performances of the play "Leading" this year will take place on April 16 at Pravieniškės Prison and on April 23-25 at Vilnius Prison.
The performance, which was born during a creative workshop in Pravieniškės Prison, is a performative encounter in which 10 spectators and 10 prisoners engage in improvisational dialogues. Neither side is prepared for them in advance, so each performance is unique, revealing the different experiences and life stories of the participants.
"The title "Guided" contains the entire concept of the performance. The viewer's experience here is not traditional. It is not that they sit comfortably in an amphitheater, the lights go out, and they watch the action in the dark and untouched by anyone. In this case, the viewer already knows when they come, has read or heard somewhere that in this performance the audience is also the participants. Tablets are placed on the table, text appears on them, they act as a guide," says the director of the performance, Mantas Jančiauskas.
"Prison is one of the most closed social spaces, but art can open up conversation even where it is most lacking. Each screening of "Vedami" becomes a living, constantly changing social experiment, allowing for a new look at freedom, separation, and togetherness," says Aistė Ulubey, director of "Artscape".
Today, more than 4 people are serving sentences in Lithuanian prisons. This is one of the highest numbers in Europe – Lithuania ranks fourth in the European Union in terms of the average number of incarcerated people.
The “Vedami” format, which has already been presented in Pravieniškės and Vilnius prisons, has received more than one award and appreciation. The performance became one of the ten laureates of the 2023 Lithuanian Theatre Showcase competition program, won the “Golden Stage Cross” award for searching for new forms of stage expression, and the arts agency “Artscape”, which produces it, was recognized for its merits in the field of human rights. This success has encouraged the development of the performance into new spaces – it is expected that “Vedami” will open the gates of the Panevėžys women's prison this fall.
The creative team of the performance: director Mantas Jančiauskas, playwright Rimantas Ribačiauskas, composer Andrius Šiurys, executive producer Erika Urbelevič, producer Aistė Ulubey ("Artscape"). Production - arts agency "Artscape".
For over 13 years, the arts agency Artscape has been developing strategies for inclusion through professional art forms and creating spaces for vulnerable or underserved groups of people.
