Creating Experiences: Youth Theatre's New Season Promises Four Major Stage Premieres

The State Youth Theatre in Lithuania is ushering in its 62nd season with a renewed focus on audience experience and a diverse repertoire. Under the motto "We Create Experiences," the theatre aims to provide audiences with meaningful moments of reflection and engagement, moving beyond the fleeting nature of digital imagery.

Artistic director Audronis Liuga emphasized the importance of time and concentration for genuine experience, stating the theatre's goal is to help audiences "feel the meaning of the time spent in the theatre" and "experience valuable experiences and reality seen beyond the images."

The season boasts four major premieres on its main stage, showcasing a range of dramatic interpretations from antiquity to contemporary works. The season opens in September with Cezaris Graužinis' production of Sophocles' "Philoctetes." Graužinis, returning to direct for a Lithuanian audience after more than a decade, will also play the titular role. He described the tragedy as "stunningly contemporary, psychologically compelling, and provoking self-awareness," offering a chance to rediscover "the beauty of critical thinking and the power of compassion."

November brings "The Wedding" by Witold Gombrowicz, directed by Adomas Juška, a prominent figure in the younger generation of directors. Juška aims to offer a distinct interpretation from his mentor Eimuntas Nekrošius' previous staging.

Following the new year, Estonian director Hendrik Toompere Jr. will collaborate with Lithuanian actors on a new play by Marius Ivaškevičius, titled "Totalitarian Novel." Ivaškevičius described the play as a "kind of theatrical revenge against totalitarian regimes that strangle any manifestation of free speech."

The season will conclude with Ignas Jonynas' premiere of his own play, "The Hole." This production delves into themes of family crisis and relationships, building upon the foundations of his earlier work "Son" but with a new context, genre, and psychological depth.