SONS OF A BITCH | Madách Nemzetközi Színházi Találkozó

Saulius Šaltenis

SONS OF A BITCH 14

Klaipeda Drama Theatre, Lithuania

Director: Eimuntas Nekrošius

Performed in Lithuanian with Hungarian and English subtitles.

3 hours 20 minutes with 1 breaks.

After more than 20 years, the two outstanding Lithuanian artists, Eimuntas Nekrošius and Saulius Šaltenis, have joined forces again: the latter wrote the script on the basis of his own novel, specifically for the director. Saulius Šaltenis’s writings published in Hungarian include a grotesque play (Scat, Death, Always Scat!) and a short story (On Leave). The theatrical adaptation of his novel Sons of a Bitch is especially topical today, as Lithuania celebrates the centenary of its rebirth. Šaltenis’s novel takes the audience back to the 18th century, to Little Lithuania, in the southwestern part of the country, which was under Prussian rule at the time.
The novel’s world is complex and multifaceted: it includes the historical past of Lithuania, its legends and superstitions, ancient pagan mythology, sorcery, magic, and witchcraft, and excerpts from the Holy Scriptures. Mythology and reality, life and death, eternity and everyday life – they all intertwine. The story gets to the bottom of things, revealing the essence of the Lithuanian nation, its ancient origins, and the strength within which ensures the survival of the nation. Due to its moderate nature, somewhat suppressed emotions, and its aesthetic yet irreconcilable symbolism, Sons of a Bitch conveys the spirit of Klaipėda and Little Lithuania surprisingly accurately.

Actors
Karvelis, bell ringer: Darius Meškauskas
Lotė: Karolina Kontenytė
Councilor Abelis: Edvardas Brazys
Marija: Regina Šaltenytė
Doctor Zaksas: Igoris Reklaitis
Teacher: Vaidas Jočys
Kristijonas: Aurimas Pintulis
Beggar, Former Judge, Mr. Plague: Donatas Švirėnas
Kristijonas’ mother: Nijolė Sabulytė
White whore: Justina Vanžodytė Šurajeva

Theatrical adaptation: Saulius Šaltenis
Set designer, light designer: Marius Nekrošius
Costume designer: Nadežda Gultiajeva
Composer: Antanas Jasenka
Assistant director: Marius Pažereckas

Director

Eimuntas Nekrošius

Main Stage

Eimuntas Nekrošius

Eimuntas Nekrošius is one of the most significant contemporary Lithuanian directors and also the founder and artistic director of the Meno Fortas theatre company. He was born in 1952 in a small Lithuanian village. As a child, he lived on a farmstead with his family. At 18 years of age, he was admitted to the Vilnius State Conservatory. One year after having completed his studies, he was admitted to the Lunacharsky Institute of Theatre Arts (today the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts), where he studied directing under Andrei Goncharov. His first position as a director was with the Kaunas Drama Theatre, and he later worked at the Vilnius State Youth Theatre. Gradually, he developed a distinctive and highly metaphorical approach to the language of the theatre, which was later to become the hallmark of some of his most important productions based on the works of Chekhov and Shakespeare. One year after his 1997 production of Hamlet, which was arguably epoch-making, he founded the Meno Fortas (Fortress of Art) company, which became a member of the Union of the Theatres of Europe. Nekrošius has been won numerous awards for his work. His play Othello won the Golden Mask Award in the category of Best Foreign Production, and he was the recipient the Stanislavsky Award for his work as a director. Beginning in 2002, he directed several operas in cities such Florence, Milan (in La Scala), Moscow (in the Bolshoi Theatre), and the Lithuanian National Opera House. His most important distinctions include the State Prize of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Lithuania (1983), the State Prize of the Soviet Union (1987), the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1999), and the Europe Prize for New Theatrical Realities (1991). In 1992, he was named the best European director of the Union of the Theatres of Europe. He died in november 2018. Sons Of The Bitch is his latest performance.

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