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. We cannot break the circle of violence and move forward without confronting and understanding our past. In this performance, the ghosts of the past confront the people of today and pass on their violent legacy.  

The director also enters into a critical dialogue with the Romantic figure created by Mickiewicz: the heroic fighter. Skrzywanek believes that the Romantic paradigm is dangerous. Today, once again, we are facing the threat of war and are witnessing the call for the Romantic warrior: the soldier. When we live in constant fear, we tend to glorify the heroic male struggle for national freedom, while the most vulnerable are pushed aside and forgotten. But what happens when those Romantic ideals overshadow everything else? What happens when they make way for abuse and an authoritarian view of reality? When they justify violence? According to the director, although Mickiewicz’s hero fights for national liberation, he grants no freedom to the woman who has rejected his love.  

Once again, we fear war, and when fear meets faith, sin is born. 

Jakub Skrzywanek is one of the most intriguing and notable contemporary theatre makers in Poland. A theatre director, writer, and creator of performative installations, he is also the artistic director of The National Stary Theatre in Kraków. In his works, Skrzywanek addresses socially significant topics. While his productions have won numerous awards, what matters is that they consistently spark intense public debate, invite reflection, and push the boundaries of perception. When asked whether his performances aim to provoke, he responded: ‘It is not me who provokes, it is reality that provokes us to talk about what matters.’ Jakub Skrzywanek’s artistic and ethical goal is to create theatre that is never indifferent to the world around us. Among his most powerful productions are The Death of John Paul II, which focuses on the Pope’s final days, Spartacus. Love in the Time of Plague, which explores teenage suicide and psychiatry, and Mein Kampf aimed against fascism and nationalism in Europe. 

Premiere on 28, 29, 30 November 2025 at the Main Hall.

Electronic booklet of the performance