When a director with a good sense of humour looks at the uncensored folklore collected by the patriarch of the nation, and manages to infect the theatre company comprised of great actors with this joy of discovery, the best staging of National dramaturgy comes to life. It’s really worth going to Šiauliai and see it.

An atypical performance within the context of the Small Theatre of Vilnius: five young actresses of Tuminas (who initiated the birth of the performance) plunge into merciless modern reality of Balkan families that is reproduced without any trimmings in children’s games. The performance is magnetizing not only due to its piercing poetic text by Serbian playwright Biljana Srbljanović, but also due to passionate and lively acting.

The fire of incest strikes between a teenaged brother and sister from an absolutely undistinguished, “normal” family. What is rotten within the kingdom of “normality”? Burning with hatred towards their parents who lack love and life as well as towards their home, flaring with anxiety as well as intimidating lust Kurt and Olga decide to resort to extreme measures.

Khlestakov, played by one of the most gifted actors of the middle generation Arūnas Sakalauskas, is met by a perfectly harmonious company of the Small Theatre that embodies weak-kneed top officials of a provincial town. We can assure you that such scenes (e.g. card game, lulling of Khlestakov to sleep etc.) are not to be found at any other theatre.

A fashionable, modern Polish playwright with a “Scandinavian literary” pseudonym has created a play about violence, manipulation and similar evil storming in the streets, breaking into houses, into relationships. In this performance, director Jonas Vaitkus works together with his gifted students – Arūnas Sakalauskas and Jolanta Dapkūnaitė.

This time the most sensitive Lithuanian director Gintaras Varnas imprisons feelings and becomes almost unrecognizable. Slow but inexorable movement of modern society towards death is shown on the stage. This would have remained as just one more “euro-performance” if not for real theatrical “here and now” sparkles stricken by the director’s favourite actors.

The tragedy of a man whose fall has been prophesied by witches. Mischievous games of the raving witches evoke destructively arrogant thoughts that have been lurking within people. While watching the increasing suffering one can only dumbly repeat Miserere.

Dramatist Marius Ivaškevičius takes down the brightest Lithuanian interwar figures off their pedestals not in order to doubt the laurels they earned. Who tells that love is possible only with pathetic expression on face? A smile or even laughter are also perfectly suitable.