The LNDT Prepares for Tours in Athens, Brussels, Toruń and Rakvere
The Lithuanian National Drama Theatre (LNDT) is one of the country's most frequently touring theatres. It is currently preparing for four tours shortly, where it will present its performances to audiences in Athens (Greece), Brussels (Belgium), Toruń (Poland), and Rakvere (Estonia).
The LNDT's production “Respublica”, directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, is frequently presented in other countries: last year it was shown at the Holland Festival in the Netherlands, and in 2022 it was presented twice in Germany – at the Ruhr Triennial and the Kammerspiele Theater in Munich. In May this year, the creative team will travel to Belgium for three presentations at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts (23, 24, and 25 May).
Kunstenfestivaldesarts is an international performing arts festival founded in 1994 and dedicated to contemporary theatre, dance, performance, and visual arts. The festival takes place in around 30 venues in Brussels: theatres, cultural centers, museums, and public spaces. This year, “Back to Back”, a theatre company from Australia, known worldwide for turning disability into a tool for artistic exploration and awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 52nd Venice Theatre Biennale, will present a premiere. Also, MEXA, a collective from Brazil, named one of the discoveries of the festival last year, will show its new interpretation of The Last Supper. Choreographer Idio Chichava will present “Vagabundus”, an artwork full of traditional and contemporary Mozambican songs and gospel motifs, and renowned Japanese director and playwright Toshiki Okada will invite the audience to a science fiction work about language. The artistic directors of the festival also list “Respublica” as one of their recommendations.
On 31 May and 1 June In Toruń, the “Kontakt” festival will present the LNDT's performance “Metamorphosis”, inspired by the oeuvre of Franz Kafka, which was created exactly one year ago. This year, LNDT's production, presented by Oliver Frljić, a Slovenian director known as a theatrical provocateur, has been given the honor of opening the festival. “Kontakt”, which has run since 1991, has been organized by Toruń's Wilam Horzyca Theatre and every two years brings together artists from different countries. The themes of the performances are often controversial and cover
complex topics. This year, the festival's opening performance, LNDT's “Metamorphosis”, will be immediately followed by “Dorian”, directed by Robert Wilson at the Kaunas National Drama Theatre, as well as Alvis Hermanis's performance “Kurlmēmo zeme” (“The Land of Kurlmēmo”) at Riga's New Theatre, “The Employees” by Łukasz Twarkowski presented in Warsaw, and the co-production “Invisibili” by French theatre “Compagnie 111” and Italian “Teatro Biondo”.
On 13, 14, and 15 June, three more showings of the “Respublica” will take place in the Greek capital Athens. The LNDT's production is presented in Greece by the Onassis Stegi Arts Centre, which is part of the Onassis Foundation. The Foundation was created in 1974 by Aristotle Onassis and focuses on education, health, and culture.
In March, Onassis Stegi already presented Lukasz Twarkowski's Riga-based performance “Rohtko”. Before that, Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton had a show here in costumes from Pasolini's films, and a performance by the British actor and director Simon McBurney, based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning Olga Tokarczuk, “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead”, was presented. Christos Popodopoulos, a choreographer renowned in Europe, invited the audience to a new interpretation of Homer's Odyssey, and the “Soundwalk Collective”, together with the poet Patti Smith, presented “Correspondences”, a sound and image project.
In July, the last tour of the 85th LNDT season will take place with the performance "The Silence of the Sirens" directed by Laura Kutkaitė. The production will take part in the Estonian theatre festival “Balstoscandal” on 6 and 7 July. The biennial festival will be held for the 18th time and is the oldest international theatre festival in the Baltic States. The artistic director of the festival is Priit Raud and the event is organized by Rakvere Theatre. “The Silence of the Sirens” will be performed in the Rakvere Theatre's Great Hall. Robert Henke, whose oeuvre has been exhibited at the Tate Modern in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and elsewhere, will present his show at the festival, as well as “Back to Back” Theatre from Australia, who will also be in Brussels and, as mentioned above, won the Golden Lion at the 52nd Venice Theatre Biennale. Lawrence Malstaf from Belgium, a choreographer and set designer known for his innovative solutions, will also take part in the festival. A book launch will be held there by Florian
Malzacher, who has worked with “Forced Entertainment” and “Rimini Protokoll”, and other events will take place there.
"We are very happy about all the tours, they are a recognition of our theatre and a sign of quality. Tours in other countries and establishing links with European theatres is one of our theatre's priorities. In this way, Lithuanian artists come into contact with different cultures, and more diverse audiences and can feel the pulse of contemporary theatre. Lukasz Twarkowski's production “Repsublica”, created in LNDT, opened a very successful stage of the director's career: nowadays Twarkowski is one of the most sought-after directors in Europe, whose works are presented in Paris, Athens, Milan, and Vienna.
For the Lithuanian theatre, the “Metamorphosis” tour is a return to the “Kontakt” festival, where performances by Eimunt Nekrošius and Oskaras Koršunovas have been shown several times. We are glad that the relationship with the festival has been renewed again. Laura Kutkaitė's already acclaimed performance “Silence of the Sirens” will be shown in Estonia, and we hope that the “Baltoscandal” audience will find this production as relevant as the Dresden audience", say LNDT artistic directors Kamilė Gudmonaitė, Antanas Obcarskas and Eglė Švedkauskaitė.