Sep 142013
 

Our Class

Although the play has been staged in Europe and North America, our production is addressed at the painful taboos of the present Lithuania. Performance is raising an urgent question of national collective memory and the aftermath of WWII. Ordinary daily heroism vs. betrayal and collaboration with Nazis during the war.

Our Class is based on real events taking place between 1925-2003; a small town neighbors are born, raised and murdered, trapped between Soviet and Nazi regime. The aftermath of a single day massacre haunts both living and dead in a brilliant dramatic interpretation by Tadeusz Slobodzanek, winner of the NIKE book prize 2010, the highest literary award in Poland.

The innocence of youth is overwhelming from the school bench to the first kiss, from a Catholic prayer to the first stone cast in the back of the “”other.” The loss of innocence is tangible, it happens right before our eyes. Children become warriors and at the end of the game, their fragile bodies return to the state of childhood’s immobility, lack of strength and lucidity.

Small town neighbors, Jews and Poles, face each other in sickness and in health, till death do them part. A story of a single town, a story of the nation and the whole race. Every human being is faced with a choice. What is the true face of human nature? Is our only tangible instinct to survive? Or to love?  Love. Salvation. Faith. Choice. Our production focusees on humanity, the extreme circumstances call for strength of the human spirit, faith and compassion. The question is, do we still have it?

 

 

Team
Scenography: Marijus JACOVSKIS

Composer: Antanas JASENKA

Video design: Eglė EIGIRDAITĖ

Lighting: Vilius VILUTIS

Costume design: Zane PIHLSTROM (USA)

Translation(From Polish): Rolandas RASTAUSKAS

Musicians: Darius BAŽANOVAS, Edvardas JUCIUS, Algirdas JANUŠEVIČIUS, Julius RAČKAUSKAS, Darius ŽYLĖ

Assistant Director: Mindaugas JUSČIUS

 

Cast:

Dora (1920-1941)Miglė POLIKEVIČIŪTĖ/Toma VAŠKEVIČIŪTĖ
Zocha (1919-1985)Rimantė VALIUKAITĖ/Vaiva MAINELYTĖ/Monika BIČIŪNAITĖ
Rachelka / Mariana (1920-2002)Monika VAIČIULYTĖ/Aldona JANUŠAUSKAITĖ
Jokūbas Kacas (1919-1941)Daumantas CIUNIS
Rysekas (1919-1942)Dainius JANKAUSKAS
Menachemas (1919-1975)Tadas GRYN
Zigmuntas (1918-1977)Ramūnas CICĖNAS
Henekas (1919-2001)Paulius TAMOLĖ/Gediminas GIRDVAINIS
Vladekas (1919-2001)Algirdas GRADAUSKAS/Tomas ŽAIBUS/Valerijus JEVSEJEVAS
Abraomas (1920-2003)Marius REPŠYS 

This  premiere is presented as part of International Festival Sirenos, Vilnius 2013