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AMBITION – KLAIPĖDA ON THE MAP OF EUROPEAN THEATRES

“TheATRIUM” began in 2017 and is now a significant event in theatre life not only in Klaipėda, but in Lithuania and the whole Europe.

“TheARTIUM” will start on May 24–28 with one of the most successful projects of Klaipėda Drama Theatre – Lithuanian Theatre Showcase. In 5 days we will present 11 latest performances by Lithuanian creators to foreign guests (theatre art professionals, festival representatives, producers, etc.). This is an important opportunity for them to establish international relations, to be evaluated and noticed by foreign scouts. We are currently waiting for about 40 theatre professionals from all over the world to visit the showcase.

During “TheATRIUM” creative workshops, which have already become a tradition, will take place. This is intensive acting training for professional actors, during which they have the opportunity to work with well-known guests from foreign theatres. This year, the workshop will be conducted by the representatives of “Shinehouse Theatre” (Taiwan).

An international festival programme will take place from June 1 to 22nd. This year, we welcome theatres and performers from Latvia, Taiwan, Great Britain, Belgium and Portugal. After the performances, we will invite the audience to a general conversation with the directors and creative teams of the performances. Meetings of the audience and creators is a festival event that has already proven itself and is becoming a tradition, an informal medium for the exchange of ideas and impressions.

Tomas Juočys

This is my seventh opening speech in “TheATRIUM” Festival. And I am still as excited as I was seven years ago! You know, not many people believed in us then. Even inside the theatre there were doubts. Will we succeed? Who needs that? Will we overcome all the challenges that arise with almost no budget and no support? Seven years later, the answers are very obvious: we have overcome all the difficulties and will overcome them in the future, the festival has succeeded and must succeed – theatre lovers need it. Looking deeper, we can see that “TheATRIUM” helped Klaipėda Drama Theatre become what it is today: provocative, modern-day, constantly moving forward. We have not stopped creating during any crisis or pandemic. And today, when the world is surrounded by darkness, we see only one way out – not to stop, to go forward, to reach for the light. It is our response to the darkness, our struggle against its forces. Changing the world is very difficult, but that does not mean you can give up. We create and believe in the victory of good. We are not disappointed in the era that has happened to us, we accept reality as it is and we believe in freedom. We create and enjoy creation. We invite everyone to “TheATRIUM”, the space for meetings and communication, we invite you to the theatre. To the place, where even in the darkest times which we have faced, we look for the light together and together we create the world where goodness triumphs.

WE SHALL GROW THORNS IN OUR GARDEN

Long ago, when the sea was a lake, devoted hands planted a garden. It was surrounded by dense forests, where huge mythical beasts, not yet extinct, roamed freely. Swift rivers murmured around it. Bathed in sunlight and birdsong, the young garden flourished. Each plant seemed more beautiful than the last, a celebration of vivid colours, varied forms, rich textures and intoxicating fragrance. The thriving garden attracted the attention of many passers-by. Some would pause beneath its wide-branched trees, rest for a while, and, grateful for the shelter, continue on their journey. Others desired its beauty for themselves. They tore greedily at the plants and trampled the paths without care. After their visits, ugly wounds marked the garden. Petals were pressed into the soil, branches snapped, unripe fruit crushed underfoot. The gardeners’ caring hands patiently and lovingly revived the damaged plants, planted new ones and nurtured them until flowers filled the emptiness and the gentle hum of bees softened the silence. Yet uninvited guests forced their way in again and again, destroying what they found. Sometimes they left the garden looking like a graveyard: uprooted trunks, raw stumps and barren ground. The day came when, after yet another brutal destruction of their labour of love, the gardeners said, “Enough.” They loosened the trampled earth, replanted the ravaged beds and caressed each fragile shoot reaching towards life. Then they surrounded the garden with impenetrable thistle thickets, brambles, wild rose bushes and sea-buckthorn shrubs, hawthorns, junipers, and black locusts, forming a dense thicket of thorny, defiant plants, beautiful and impassable. The garden leafed and blossomed once more, heavy with fruit and berries. All who caught sight of it were tempted by its bright colours and enchanted by its sweetness, by the hum of bees weaving among the flowers and the birdsong in the air. It was an abundance protected by thorns. The greedy still circle, yet they cannot enter. From this day forward, the garden is open only to those who respect its order, its flourishing and the devoted labour of its gardeners. Our language is peaceful and calm. Yet we shall grow thorns in our garden. We look at the world with love and wonder. Yet we shall grow thorns in our garden. In our hearts dwell compassion and hope. Yet we shall grow thorns in our garden. We walk through the world striving to leave no harsh footprints behind us. Yet we shall grow thorns in our garden. We believe in fairy tales with happy endings, and we dream of the future. Yet we shall grow thorns in our garden.

programa’26

CREATIVE WORKSHOP FOR PROFESSIONAL ACTORS