The premiere “The Visit” directed by Aidas Giniotis
The booming spring bought another National Kaunas Drama Theatre premiere – director Aidas Giniotis’ play based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit. The tragicomic visit on the big stage occured on April 27th, 28th and 30th.
Director Aidas Giniotis, awarded with the Golden Stage Cross for his works in various theatres, works for the first time in the National Kaunas Drama Theatre. The director has chosen Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s work The Visit, which has received global honour and tells the story about the life in a small provincial town full of tragicomic problems that resemble our age and the society diseases existing among us today.
Fabulously rich lady Claire decides to arrive at a small, impoverished province town where the factories had been out of service for a long time and there are no trains carrying important passengers. She grew up in this town and left it for four decades. The multimillionaire Claire, who can financially support the town community, is the last hope to rebuild the town. The old lady agrees to donate one billion on one condition. To restore justice in the town, she wants her youth love, who broke her heart, to be killed.
Director A. Giniotis says, “There are three main characters in this performance: old lady Claire Zachanassian, her old friend Alfred Ill and the town community. All the intrigues dominate in this triangle. Those intrigues have not lost their relevance since the creation of the play, because we still live in a world that cares too much about material values. The director highlights the most important questions raised in the play: How much and what can we sell for the money? What can we buy for it? Is it possible to buy freedom, happiness, and justice?”
Jūratė Onaitytė plays Claire, the leading role. The audience will see her in slightly unexpected way. Other artists of the play: Liubomiras Laucevičius, Egidijus Stancikas, Dainius Svobonas, Albinas Budnikas, Saulius Čiučelis, Tomas Erbrėderis, Martyna Gedvilaitė, Ugnė Žirgulė, Eugenija Bendoriūtė, Gytis Laskovas, Dovydas Pabarčius, Audronė Paškonytė, Henrikas Savickis, Artūras Sužiedėlis, Ridas Žirgulis, Gintautas Bejeris. The stage design and costumes by Laura Luišaitytė. Composer Ignas Juzokas.
The story of one person and one town narrated as a delicious joke that entertains and intrigues, but at the same time forces to look at the vertical line of the human soul, looking for answers to eternal valuable questions.
National Kaunas Drama Theatre information and photo.
