86 SEASON
"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."
— Albert Camus, Return to Tipasa, 1952
The air around us is heavy with tension and unease. Our present is a tangle of contradictions and paradoxes — we are celebrated as the happiest country in Europe for young people, yet even as we present our young nation to the world with boldness, creativity, and ever greater clarity, we are also compelled to devise strategies of defence and resistance, to measure the meaning of all we create in the shadow of war. Living alongside a real and immediate threat casts a haze over our plans while sharpening our gaze towards others — those beside us who face the same choices we do.
What, then, can theatre offer in such a time?
This 86th season invites us to ask: how can we live together without avoiding conflict, yet without nurturing anger towards one another? Through our productions and through the life of the theatre itself, we will continue to gather our community and seek ways to coexist within it. We will ask: how might we bring together theatre-makers from opposing poles? How can we illuminate polarising themes and conflicting ideas? How can we maintain resilience in chaotic times and resist the forces that would divide us?
And in pursuing the possibility of meeting, we realise: there can be no true encounter without conflict — without stepping into the very heart of what unsettles us.
In the theatre, we sit so close that our elbows, even our fingers, might touch by accident. In that moment, as our eyes turn towards the stage, we are not thinking about our neighbour’s position on the political compass, how they voted, or which social class they belong to. Our differences are briefly levelled by the shared act of watching — the vision of a director, the emotions of actors, the circumstances of another time and place.
This season, we invite you to the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre to witness how different generations confront their conflicts on stage, and how one theatrical era reaches towards another through the creation of an imagined utopia. Our artists will reflect on inherited bonds, family histories, the worldviews passed down by parents and grandparents — and their own relationship to them. We will explore how an authentic, independent connection to the world is formed; how one distances oneself from one’s community, and how one returns.
We open the season with a family production of Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter. For the first time, Astrid Lindgren’s beloved novel will be adapted for the Main Stage of the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. By beginning with a work of children’s literature, we hope to welcome audiences of all ages, for in some way, each of us has lived Ronja’s story. It is a tale of choosing between what is expected of you and what your heart truly desires. Leaving her father’s castle, Ronja takes the hard road to adulthood. Her courage is so powerful that it unites even the bitterest of enemies. The premiere will take place on 6–7 September, directed by Eglė Švedkauskaitė.
Our second premiere, directed by Naubertas Jasinskas, reimagines the legendary film Devil’s Bride. The creators are drawn to Jurga — one of the most memorable roles of long-time LNDT troupe member Vaiva Mainelytė — and the image of the young “promised” woman. Themes of personal independence, the deconstruction of memory, and both angelic and devilish choices will take shape in the New Hall on 13–15 November.
In November, the Small Hall will also welcome the return of Versmė, our contemporary playwriting festival, now celebrating its 20th anniversary. This year’s edition will feature works by Italian writers and introduce the newest winner of the European Playwrights’ Residency Programme, Kristina Steiblytė, whose play explores the relationship between humans and forests.
Mid-season, in February 2026, the New Hall will host Teach Me (working title), a new production by Laura Kutkaitė — one of the most distinctive young voices in Lithuanian theatre, already well known to LNDT audiences. This time, she will lead us into a docu-fiction about an education system that resembles a factory. School is an experience we all share, and Kutkaitė approaches it with an inquisitive eye, challenging authority while leaving room for humour. Teach Me will be an invitation to revisit your own school memories — this time in the theatre.
In April, the Main Stage will be claimed by theatre muses, ghosts, and utopias. Cinema director and screenwriter Karolis Kaupinis will make his stage debut, telling the story of a legendary production. His play Lithuanian Death Notices: The Story of One Play was first read at the 2024 Versmė festival to great public interest, sparking the hope that it might grow into a full production. We are delighted that Kaupinis’ deep exploration of Lithuanian theatre history will now find its life on stage.
We will close our 86th season with a highly anticipated premiere by Chilean director Marco Layera, inspired by the stories of those who return to their homeland after years of emigration. How do the places we leave change, and how are we changed in the process? The director reflects on the search for an ideal place in the world, and on the illusion that true refuge can be found anywhere but where we are. In recent years, Marco Layera has worked widely in German theatres, with productions gaining ever greater attention across Europe, including at the Avignon Festival.
We sense — and know — that this new season will bring inevitable changes to the theatre, and to us, its current artistic directors. But we believe change and transformation are the very essence of theatre: the necessary passage from one state to another, towards a new quality. We wish all our season’s creators strength and the courage to support one another.
Artistic Directors of LNDT
Kamilė Gudmonaitė, Antanas Obcarskas, Eglė Švedkauskaitė