The performance is for viewers 18 and over.
The performance contains nudity and violence scenes, there are smoke effects and gunshots.
Language: Lithuanian
Subtitles: Polish, English
After the performance there will be a meeting with the creators.

”Lithuanian Forefathers’ Eve”, directed by Jakub Skrzywanek at the National Kaunas Drama Theatre, is based on a classic work by a Polish-Lithuanian author Adam Mickiewicz. As a starting point, the director chose one of the most iconic works of Polish Romanticism, specifically, parts II and IV written while Mickiewicz still lived in Lithuania, which depict the pagan Forefathers’ Eve rituals. Using this material, Skrzywanek creates a modern social ritual of his own, investigating the history of sin: its consequences and its deep roots in our culture. He began developing the performance by asking the question: What are our greatest sins?

The director first turns his attention to earth, both as the territory of Poland and Lithuania, marked by war, occupation and patriarchal violence since the time of serfdom, and as the nurturing land that gives us life and receives the dead: a medium of an eternal circle of life and death. ‘Our history is a history of war’, the director states. ‘We all live in one vast battlefield, or a grave.’ Aggression and cruelty are embedded in the land itself. They do not simply vanish; they are passed on to the next generations like unhealed trauma.

The performance features emotionally charged scenes relating to Lithuania’s history and collective experiences. While some artistic devices may provoke, offend, or shock, these are balanced by alienating techniques, and the tension does not remain at a constant high, giving the audience time to process what they have seen. Furthermore, the production's form and staging remain deeply engaging. Jakub Skrzywanek reinterprets the Dziady ritual (or Forefathers' Eve) as a therapeutic session, creating a safe space where the community can confront painful experiences and reopen old wounds without real threat. This initiates a path towards healing. Silence offers no resolution, especially for the 'happiest nation', which has the highest suicide rate.
Austė Žiogaitė, 7md.lt

Each of the director’s proposed vignettes, when performed on stage, boasts strong acting, choreography, visual design and music. Every single one could also serve as a starting point for an alternative interpretation of Forefathers' Eve. The Lithuanian production of Forefathers’ Eve captivates visually, moves with a soundtrack crafted by Karol Nepelski, who weaves pre-recorded actors' voices into the live action, and hypnotises through Agnieszka Kryst's poignant choreography.
Maria Makaruk, Didaskalia

Co-financed by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and Polish Institute in Vilnius

Cast

Gallery