Aleksandr Vvedensky: A Christmas Tree at the Ivanovs (Dir. Jonas Vaitkus)

A two-part musical performance, performed in Russian with Lithuanian subtitles (translated by Sigitas Parulskis). The production won four Golden Stage Cross awards in 2013 for best direction, set design, music, and lead performance of the year. The story begins at a festive children's bath-time in the home of a prosperous intellectual family, which is abruptly interrupted when the nanny seizes an axe and beheads one of her charges. It ends just as unexpectedly as it begins — when, after a string of absurd deaths, the play simply runs out of characters. This is the plot of the renowned Russian absurdist Aleksandr Vvedensky (1904–1941), as reimagined by director Jonas Vaitkus and his creative team. The play is steeped in an absurdist anticipation of Christmas, populated by caricature-like characters. In the blend of illogic, naivety, and horror, there is also a pinch of the sacred. It is a paradoxical intersection of poetry, metaphysics, and linguistic nuance, where nonsense becomes more meaningful than sense, and fragmentation triumphs over wholeness. The musical performance features nearly fifty singing and acting performers, led on stage by conductor Vytautas Lukočius. Vaitkus's work no longer fits within any cultural framework — theatre scholar Daiva Šabasevičienė, 7 Meno Dienos.

Adresas: Vilniaus senasis teatras