A microcosm of feelings in Artūrs Areima’s latest premiere “The Reunification of Two Koreas” | Culture

A mature artist returns

The director creates the play with a strong creative team: set designer Oles Makukhin, costume designer Valdemara Jasulaitytė, composer Mantvydas Leonas Pranulis, video artist Kristijonas Dirsė, lighting artist Julius Kuršys. The play was translated from French by Akvilė Melkūnaitė.

A large group of actors plays: Andrius Alešiūnas, Arnas Ashmonas, Mantas Bendžius, Eugenija Bendoriūtė, Deividas Breivė, Tomas Erbrėderis, Martyna Gedvilaitė, Vilija Grigaitytė, Motiejus Ivanauskas, Liubomirs Laucevičius, Gytis Laskovas, Kamilė Lebedytė, Vaidas Maršalka, Pijus Narijauskas, Miglė Navasaitytė, Inesa Paliulytė, Goda Petkutė, Monika Poderytė, Dainius Svobonas, Sigitas Šidlauskas, Ugnė Žirgulė, Ridas Žirgulis.

Photo by D.Stankevičius/Scene from the play “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”.

According to the theatre’s artistic director, theatrologist Edgaras Klivis, the play and the return of the director give us a lot of hope: “The play based on Joel Pommerat’s play depicts the microworld of human relationships and feelings. On stage, it is attracted and magnified to the extent that we can listen to every pause or nuance of intonation, look into every gesture, fragment of a smile, secret glance.

Using microphones and cameras, the director, his creative team and our theater actors paint every detail of interpersonal relationships down to the smallest detail, showing that this micro world of feelings is no less complex than the macro world of cross-border politics, and the union of two people is as unlikely as two Koreas .

So, we invite the audience to the performance who missed such a detailed, attentive theater of feelings. Those who remember Artūrs Areima’s earlier performances in Kaunas as an enfant terrible of the Lithuanian Theater will be surprised today when they come across a mature and masterful direction.”

Director’s vision

Commenting on the play, director A. Areima says that it is characterized by postmodern eclecticism: “Pommerat obviously uses quotes from other playwrights and movies. The principle of collage is not very new, plays from short episodes that have no continuation have been written before. This fragmentation gives the viewer more food for thought.

It is a universal play about expressions of love, about how that feeling spreads in different colors. Love here is not sweet and refined, it can be very dangerous, it often contains painful things, dissatisfaction, in love it is not only found, but also lost, because of love there are wars, etc.

Photo by D.Stankevičius/Scene from the play “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”.

I also try to look for different colors, and that colorfulness is important. The viewer will be able to recognize one or another episode based on their experience. It’s important to me that every episode leaves a question, an ambiguity, no clear answer. I don’t like it when the viewer is presented with an option of how they should think, formulated as if according to an algorithm. Today, sending algorithmic thinking from the stage to the audience is very cheap. I want the viewer to be a free thinker.”

Vivid cinematography

The creators of the show unanimously identify the cinematography of this play and try to convey it. “I am interested in the combination of theater and cinema. The screen allows you to look closely, to see a tear, a facial expression, every moving wrinkle. And the stage gives a wide panoramic view that allows you to see what a complex mechanism it is, especially in live action, changing scenery. I want the audience to see a live re-editing, the transition from scene to scene, how the stage is being prepared, where feelings are born”, said Artūras Areima.

Photo by D.Stankevičius/Scene from the play “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”.

Set designer Oles Makukhin and video artist Kristijonas Dirsė skillfully use cinematography on stage. According to O. Makukhin, he modeled a scenography that would suit both the abstract theater space and the filming location. The dynamic scenery he creates is a place to tell stories. Video artist Kristijonas Dirsė notes the importance of the second, cinematic layer: “Artūras invited me to create the video part of the performance. The video content is created live, with two cameramen filming the actors on stage. Close-ups and interesting angles are created using cinematographic means. The video layer allows for experimentation and can help influence the viewer. I think that in this case, this use of the image conveyed by the camera will help the audience to feel the nuances of love more closely.”

The costume designer Valdemara Jasulaitytė also follows these rules of the game – she created about 50 costumes for the play, as 22 actors play. “The sketches changed during the rehearsal process. I got a lot of freedom to create and reveal the character through the costume. I chose a classic cut, deconstructed it, so there will be no corners in the clothes. What I found most interesting about this play was the change in the relationship, how much you have to adjust in a relationship. That idea of ​​adapting or grinding corners is also reflected in the costumes,” says the young, up-and-coming theater costume designer.

Photo by D.Stankevičius/Scene from the play “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”.

Composer Mantvydas Leonas Pranulis created not only music for the performance, but also original songs, which are performed in English by actors Monika Poderytė, Martyna Gedvilaitė, Mantas Bendžius: “The music in this performance is like a means of conveying the atmosphere of the cinema, mostly background, but there are scenes where it performs solo part as in the theater. The music here mostly gives emotional colors to the action. I tried to understand what kind of world music can create in this performance. I tried to create a subtle synthesis of various tools – I use ambient sounds, electronic sounds, live instruments, and songs of my own creation.”

The lighting artist Julius Kuršys created an exceptional theater and cinema lighting score, in which sensitive strokes of light and shadows harmoniously overlap.

Actors about the love versions of the characters

The actors playing in the play act in different scenes, embodying different characters. Actress Miglė Navasaitytė, who plays the roles of Kristel, the Woman in the “Death” scene, the Nanny in the “Children” scene, the Woman in the “Pregnant” scene, says that all her characters are very sensitive, they are looking for love, truth and fall into the traps of other people who are looking for their own truth. intrigue “One heroine utters the phrase: ‘We decided to love each other all our lives, not just a little bit, but all our lives.’ Maybe this thought may seem naive to someone, but to me it is very hopeful, bright and gives strength to the soul,” says the first season an actress working in the theater.

Photo by D.Stankevičius/Scene from the play “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”.

Actor Motiejus Ivanauskas, who plays the groom and the son going off to war, notices the different moods of the scenes: “The son doesn’t say a word, and the groom is very expressive, and the situation he finds himself in is unusual, curious, sad and funny at the same time.” All the scenes are dominated by love, but the characters develop their own version of love.”

Actress Goda Petkutė, who performs the roles of the Second Woman in the “Part of Me” scene, Korina in the “Cleaning” scene, Natali in the “Marriage” scene, and the Woman in the “Value” scene, says: “My four very different women in this performance made it clear that each of them has their own truth , if we truly love, we believe in our choices, values ​​and self-determination. The most touching role is the Second Woman, who sits in front of the mirror and conflicts with her ego. This scene is relevant to all of us because it talks about how everything in life is intertwined. We are bound to each other. We have to balance, but we are often thrown off balance by selfishness. People often get sick with it. If someone touches it, it’s like a tumor appears in that place.”

Actors Ugnė Žirgulė and Ridas Žirgulis, who have spent 20 years on stage and in life, embody the characters in the scenes of “War” and “Love”. “These scenes are very different, and the stories of the characters are relevant and painful, requiring a lot of emotional strength. Painful and deep questions arise. For example, is it really that difficult to tell a child that you love him? Can parents do this? Can there really be such alienation? Or are we just lost and quick to judge? Kare asks the questions, can love be too small? Is love of neighbor less than love of imagined ideals? What is more important? Love for children and family, or for the motherland? It’s interesting to try to answer these questions, to create roles with a close person and soul and perception,” said the actors.

Photo by D.Stankevičius/Scene from the play “The Reunification of the Two Koreas”.

Actress Vilija Grigaitytė plays with her colleague Liubomir Laucevičius on the stage of “Laukimos”. “This is love in the sunset of people’s lives. It is more fragile, you appreciate it more, because you no longer expect to experience this feeling, and you appreciate it more deeply with the accumulated wisdom. This play covers a lot, down to a certain social cut. I hope that in these scenes the viewer will find themselves and even the answers to their questions. Actor Liubomirs Laucevičius seconded her: “Our heroes are lonely, they try to get closer and talk about love from the perspective of their maturity. The play is interesting, it contains characters of different ages, different episodes – wedding, death, betrayal and being in them”.

Actress and performer Monika Poderytė sings and creates three heroines: “For me, this is the first piece on the Main Stage of the National Kaunas Drama Theater, but the way I was received by the stage partners in this theater gave me a lot of motivation and desire to create.” I discovered many new colors in myself, it was nice to watch my colleagues, learn from them, discover new details. My characters are emotionally and psychophysically different. The scenes are short, so it’s a huge acting job to create the different characters. The work is about love and during the whole creative process we experienced a lot of love and all kinds: anxious love, warm love. I am happy with this creative process.”

April 20 after the premiere, there will be a discussion with a psychotherapist with many years of experience, dr. Julius Neverauskas. Discussion topic: “Anatomy of relationships on the stage of the theater”. It will be moderated by theater expert, artistic director dr. Edgar Klivis.

April 19 and 20 the performance is shown with English subtitles.