The coronavirus forced us to change and try new things. The changes did not bypass the theaters either, which were able to respond to the difficult situation and adapt to it quite promptly, although for many, before the wave of COVID-19, it seemed to be one of the most difficult areas of culture to give in to innovation. After a difficult quarantine period, when they were forced to cancel dozens of performances, theaters are returning, starting a new season and trying new formats that open up wider opportunities not only for the creators themselves, but also for the audience.
"After the introduction of the quarantine in the country, the activity of theaters stopped. The theaters we work with alone canceled or rescheduled over 600 performances during the quarantine period. However, the calm that was in the spring was replaced by a much more active summer. We were used to the theater season ending at the end of June, this year most theaters actively showed their plays throughout the summer. This was an attempt to repay the debt to the viewers and make up for lost time. Of course, the results we managed to achieve by showing performances in the summer are certainly not comparable to those that the theaters would have achieved by working in normal mode", Laurynas Vairys, commercial director of the ticket distribution company "Tiketa", reviews the situation.
Due to the current restrictions, theaters moved their performances to open spaces in the summer. Under the open sky, it was possible to see the performances of the Oskar Koršunova Theater, the Lithuanian National Drama Theater, the Open Circle, as well as the performances of the Vilnius City Opera, the Šeikos Dance Theater, and the Klaipėda Youth Theater. Autumn and the lifting of restrictions on indoor events from September 1 brought theaters back to the halls. Many are happy with this return: it is simpler to show the performance in a space adapted for this purpose, but in order to ensure compliance with the instructions of the authorities, the flow of spectators must be limited and a distance of at least 1 meter between the audience in the hall must be maintained, which means that this season the performance in the hall can be watched by at least twice as many spectators than before.
"Tiketa" offered a solution for theaters under the pressure of constraints and restrictions. The Lithuanian National Drama Theater (LNDT) was the first to use the new "Ticket" function - the theater will show performances not only in the hall, but will also broadcast live on the Internet.
"Lithuanian National Drama Theater has already started its 81st season with the premiere of the play "Respublika". This performance was exceptional in form, size and duration. It attracted great interest from the audience, all tickets for the three screenings were sold out long before the premiere. At Respublika, we also started a new stage in the life of the theater - live broadcasts of performances on the Internet. We have planned to broadcast all premieres online and we strongly invite viewers - especially from other cities or even other countries - to take the opportunity to see the latest production of the Lithuanian National Drama Theater without leaving their homes", says LNDT Deputy General Director Ieva Skaržinskaitė.
4 premieres of LNDT are scheduled to be broadcast live on the Internet. The first - "Republic" - has already been shown to theater fans. It was watched by almost as many viewers online as live viewers. It will also be possible to watch the premiere of the performances "Played by Marius Repšys", "Alisa" and "Didysis kelias" live online.
The Klaipėda Drama Theater plans to be more open to the audience this season. "2020-2021 during the season, we will try to make it as simple as possible for the audience to plan their visit to the theater. So anyone who bought a ticket in advance will be able to return it at any time. We are not changing our plans to work with the best directors, so we will present two premieres before the New Year: September 19-20. the premiere of Latvian director Laura Groza's play based on M. Gorky's play "Children of the Sun" will take place, and at the beginning of December we will have the premiere of one of the most interesting Latvian directors Elmār Senkov's play "Varovai". We aim to become as open as possible to visitors, so we are opening a reading room in the theater from September. After the New Year, there will be even more important events for the theater and the audience. Thus, the main message sent by the Klaipėda Drama Theater is that the pandemic affects our lives, but it cannot determine our thinking and feelings", assures the manager of the Klaipėda Drama Theater Tomas Juočys.
The National Kaunas Drama Theater, which is already entering its 101st season, is trying to adapt to the situation. The theater has planned to present as many as 5 premieres until January next year, the audience saw the first - the premiere of Gytis Padegima's play "The Pioneers" at the end of summer, and the second - the international premiere with the Slovenian creative team "Elektra" - was presented at the weekend. In November, the Utopia and NKDT co-production "Batsiuviai" will see the light of day, and in December, a premiere dedicated to the theater's centenary, based on Vydūns's work "Ne sau živnosų", directed by Jonas Vaitkus. The last premiere of the year based on the play "Spaced Away" by the Russian playwright Kirill Fokin is being prepared by Agnija Leonova, making her debut at the NKDT. The latter production should turn into a performance not only implemented on stage, but also broadcast on the Internet.
According to the data of teatrai.lt, a guide uniting the country's theaters and classical music organizers, many creators have returned to the theaters and are trying to recover from the blow they suffered. By the end of the year, theater and classic lovers are already invited to visit over 1. events, but the event grid is constantly being filled. It is likely that we will see a little less premieres at least at the beginning of this season, but there will be more than one opportunity to see your favorite or to see the best and most popular performances before you have time.
