Sirenos'26: MAMI

"My mother brought not only me into this world, but helped bring thousands of other children too. She was a midwife. This show is a hymn to all the women who raised us." - Mario Banushi 26-year-old theatre director of Albanian and Greek descent Mario Banushi has become one of the youngest artists to receive such prestigious awards as the Venice Biennale Silver Lion (2026) and the Greek Theatre Critics' Association Award for New Theatre Maker (2025). MAMI is only this director's fourth production -- one who develops a distinctive visual stage language -- yet its co-producers include some of the largest and most important European theatre organisations, among them the Avignon Festival in France, which included it in its main programme. On stage Mario Banushi paints inner landscapes that transport the audience to a world full of primal life, dreamlike creatures, mysticism, images and sounds, often reminiscent of Balkan folklore. His creative inspiration draws from personal memories, nostalgia, dreams and emotions -- visions with which he embroiders the production's dramaturgy. Banushi's first two productions -- "Goodbye, Lindita" and "Taverna Miresia" -- were like islands of mourning: they spoke in mystical visual metaphors of the early loss of his mother. MAMI is now an ode to beauty, motherhood and love. Banushi builds a temple to honour the imperfect bond between mother and child -- he wants to celebrate, sanctify, fill with vows and curses, relive and fall in love with it again. According to the director, he sees birth as "love in reverse". "When I was one year old, my mother had to leave and left me with my grandmother in Albania. Until the age of thirteen I called my grandmother 'mami'. When my mother took me to Athens, we lived in a flat above a bakery where she worked, and it always smelled of fresh bread. I grew up surrounded by many women, young and old. I had more than one mother. I dedicate this production to all of them -- as a wish and a gratitude for the weight that the word 'mama' carries both for the one who says it and for the one it is said to. I never understood this complex relationship -- who takes care of whom? And I never will. But I try to unravel it like an umbilical cord, like ties that connect life to its roots." - Mario Banushi Mario Banushi is a young yet already recognised theatre director whose work encompasses themes of intimacy and mythology, memory and family, revealed through a visual non-verbal stage language. Banushi was born in Greece, grew up in Albania until the age of six, then returned to Greece -- hence his creative worldview speaks about different cultural contexts and shifting family narratives through a rich vocabulary of theatrical visuals. Productions unfold like paintings in which audiences encounter visual theatre poetry and emotional depth through their own senses. His first work "Ragada" was created during the pandemic and adapted for non-theatrical spaces. His second work "Goodbye, Lindita" brought him recognition in Greece and beyond, still touring festivals across continents. Similar success followed "Taverna Miresia - Mario Bella Anastasia". Thematically connected, these two works are often presented together and have visited many festivals in Europe, North America and Asia. Concept and direction: Mario Banushi Cast: Vasiliki Driva, Dimitris Lagos, Eftychia Stefanou, Angeliki Stellatou, Ennea Vangelis and Panagiota Yiagli Set design and costumes: Sotiris Melanos Composer and sound designer: Jeph Vanger Lighting designer and dramaturgical consultant: Stephanos Droussiotis Co-creators: Aimilios Arapoglou, Thanasis Deligiannis Director's assistant: Theodora Patiti In collaboration with: OMAZ Civic Non-Profit Company Producer: Onassis Stegi [GR] Co-producers: Berliner Festspiele [DE], Odeon - Theatre de l'Europe [FR], FOG Festival / Triennale Milano Teatro [IT], Espoo Theatre [FI], Festival d'Avignon [FR], Grec Festival Barcelona [ES], Theatre de Liege [BE], Noorderzon Festival / Grand Theatre Groningen [NL] Premiere: 06 February 2025 The performance in Lithuania is supported by: Onassis Stegi Touring Program The creation of the performance was supported by: Greek Ministry of Culture The festival is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality Tickets: October 2: here. October 3: here.

Adresas: Lietuvos nacionalinis dramos teatras