THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Two-act play (Age limit 14+)

Ilgoji salė

Wednesday, November 15th, 2023

Author: Algirdas Landsbergis

Director: Gytis Padegimas

Set and costume designer: Birutė Ukrinaitė

Composer: Raimundas Martinkėnas

Choreographer: Indrė Puišytė

Actors: Arnas Ašmonas, Jurgis Jarašius, Andrius Gaučas, Rokas Lažaunykas, Dainius Svobonas, Henrikas Savickis, Ugnė Žirgulė, Artūras Sužiedėlis, Milė Šablauskaitė, Dovydas Pabarčius, Karolina Elžbieta Mikolajūnaitė

Duration – 2 hours 45 minutes (with intermission)

Director Gytis Padegimas comes back to the Kaunas National Drama Theatre after a few years break with the emigrant writer Algirdas Landsbergis’s play The Wind in the Willows. [A.] The writer discusses the inward conflict – how one is to live facing historical tragedies. Clear poetical intonation which is characteristic to Lithuanian historical dramas is apparent in the dialogues of the play, and the plot takes back to the XVI century, the moment Lithuanian-Polish forces wait to battle the Russian army for Livonia. Saint Casimir together with an angel comes down to earth for a brief moment to see people and their earthly lives, however the visit takes longer than expected…

“Similar to other plays as Our Town and During the Long Christmas Eve, this play is strongly Wilderesque, as its theme revolves around ordinary people, their strangely connected fates in the face of war. Since nowadays we feel strong geopolitical tension, I believe this play is very important. Also, Algirdas Landsbergis’ texts are like remedy for strengthening the Lithuanian consciousness” says the director of the play with confidence.