Translated from French to Lithuanian by Laima RAPŠYTĖ
“The Stranger” performance, based on the book of the same title by Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus, is staged by Slovenian director Jernej Lorenci, who is considered to be the most prominent figure in contemporary Slovenian theatre and one of the most individual, insightful, and innovative theatre-makers in Europe.
Exploring the themes of indifference, loneliness, and absurd coincidences, “The Stranger” describes a short phase in the life of the protagonist, Meursault, and his court trial. After refusing to lie to himself and others, defying the rules imposed by society, and being caught up in a series of strange coincidences, Meursault is finally condemned not for a possible crime, but for being different – a stranger.
Is contemporary society, more tolerant than ever, actively defending human rights and standing up for the weak, really tolerant of the different ones? Are there different ones who are universally pitied and others who are not? Where is the difference? How would you feel if you tried to explain your motives in court, but were asked the same biased questions over and over again, and realized that nobody was truly interested in your answers? Would you fight or would you give in?
Director Jernej Lorenci says that Meursault is an iconic figure in 20th-century literature and philosophy: "An outsider, an outcast, distanced from everything and everyone. He observes the world from his shell. He has no position of his own. Does this “detachment” have a philosophical meaning, or is it just a way to endure? Is Meursault a freak or, no matter what, a visionary?
How would we describe him today, in a time of snap judgements and black and white truth? Now that we are expected to have a clear opinion on everything, always firmly for or against? Either for or against – for us it has become a kind of all-encompassing commandment of God, a new catechism: for/against, either/or. We live in a time when we are rather proud of our generalized and simplistic view on everything and everyone. When we are furious, irritated, so angry that we think we are about to burst out. When we cling to our truth, when we fight for our exclusive right, the one, the only, the real one? We are all waving the flag of our tiny rights. A sea of flags, a sea of banners – that's what we are! And, little by little, we have drowned in stupidity, which is turning more and more ominously into real blood."
In addition to numerous awards in Slovenia, Lorenci has also won multiple awards in other countries: the “New Theatre Reality” award (2017) and the Belgrade International Theatre Festival (BITEF) Award (2013) are among the most important. In his oeuvre, the director refuses classical adaptations, and this performance will be no exception. Camus' novel “The Stranger” will be the dramaturgical axis of the performance, but during the creative process with the actors and the creative team, other relevant texts, contemporary contexts, and the personal experiences of the creators will be employed, all of which will be transformed into an original and relevant treatment of the novel.
