Lithuanian Showcase, Sirenos International Theatre Festival,
Vilnius
Lithuania's Day
Lithuania's Day is a show from Audronis Liuga Productions, created by
Cezaris Graužinis. It addresses political and political issues head-on.
There's no drama, no illusion on this stage, just four actors and four chairs.
They discuss Lithuania in a sort of actorly way, physicalizing when they want
to, talking to us when they want to.
Now, theatre is better than any other art at addressing social issues, and Lithuania's
history in the 20th century has been excruciating. It was glorious to see the
stage shoulder its social responsibility in this production - through words,
not technical tricks. The script, intelligent and articulate, discusses "the
Lithuanian spirit". "National identity is not a choice; it's inherited",
it proposes. "Image is everything. Image is a commodity".
The play doesn't shy away from national pain: "Our nation is fond of sorrow…
Our nation is fond of tears… We're choking in this tiny Lithuania."
Lithuania is seen as a weeping beggar, but some lines are more cryptic: "Let's
nurture our barbarian values".
The specific here and now of the country is examined, from its need for
Russian oil and the NATO base on its land to its president's apology for its
role in the Holocaust.
When they create stage metaphors, they throw an apple around, or throw a group
tantrum, or swing a baseball bat. Sitting in the front row, in fact, I was quite
nearly bashed to death in that last action. I closed my eyes and could hear
the whoosh of the bat over my precious cerebellum. They don't kid around
in Eastern Europe.
After the various forms of stage and verbal violence, the second act is marvelously
gentle. The actors tell us they're going to impersonate dead individuals, and
then they do. It becomes a sort of Lithuanian Our Town, but the mood
is joyous. The retrospective is over, and the cast performs a sort of healing
ritual as their characters thrill to the joy of living. Europe can overcome
its obsession with its history.
Lithuania's Day is certainly flawed - it's too long for its form, and
some of the staging is at odds with the script. Moreover, the actors aren't
totally at home with this informal style. But it's exciting theatre, straightforward
and engaged.
- Steve Capra
September 2007