Press release
During its 85th season, the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre’s performances were shown abroad 15 times.
Most recently, Republic, had its first tour in Asia, where it was presented to audiences in Taiwan. Meanwhile, LNDT’s most awarded production, Quanta, directed by Łukasz Twarkowski, was performed on stages of all three of its co-producers: in May at the National Theatre in Brno, Czech Republic; in April at DeSingel in Antwerp; and last December at the Boska Komedia festival in Kraków.
Republic was staged at the newly opened Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC). LNDT’s collaboration with the center began in early 2024, and due to the production’s scale, it was decided to present Republic in the venue’s most unique space – the “Supertheatre,” which combines two auditoriums with capacities of 1,700 and 600 seats. It was the first time the Supertheatre was used, attracting new audiences to the newly built TPAC.
According to the show’s producers, Vidas Bizunevičius and Lukrecija Gužauskaitė, the first performance was attended by around 400 spectators, while by the third show, the audience exceeded the hall’s capacity, with hundreds waiting in line. As usual, the final performance ended with a dance party, which attracted around 1,500 participants.
“This was an incredible journey with the Taiwanese audience. We never expected them to rave so freely or for the idea of freedom to resonate so deeply and clearly in this country – but it did. What happened with more than a thousand spectators in Taipei was completely unexpected. Their energy was overwhelming. Incidentally, the first performance took place on June 4th – the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre – so we included a photo of the square in the third part of the performance. It triggered a very emotional and supportive reaction from the audience. We returned to Europe full of joy and love. We’re already planning the next tours in Asia,” said director Łukasz Twarkowski.
Earlier, on May 20–21, another LNDT production, Quanta, was performed at the “Theatre World Brno” festival at the National Theatre Brno, one of the production’s co-producers. This stage usually hosts only opera and ballet. According to the director, the Czech audience responded more sensitively to certain scenes than audiences in other countries. “I feel a strong connection forming with different audiences in different regions. It’s an incredible privilege to be able to share multiple works with the same people – who, in this case, had come not only from Brno, but also from Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, and several Polish cities,” said Łukasz Twarkowski, who received the Golden Stage Cross award for directing Quanta.
The festival organizers invited Twarkowski to a special discussion about the complexities of uniting multiple co-producers for this project. Quanta was created in collaboration with the Onassis Stegi Arts Center in Athens, the DeSingel Theatre in Antwerp, the international theatre festival Boska Komedia, the National Theatre Brno, and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Poland – which also supported the tour stops in Antwerp and Brno. The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture also contributed to the production.
Before the Czech tour, Quanta was performed in Antwerp at DeSingel, and in December 2023 at the Boska Komedia festival in Kraków. In November 2023, two LNDT productions were staged in Paris as part of the Lithuanian Season in France. Fossilia, directed by Eglė Švedkauskaitė, opened the Lithuanian theatre showcase and was presented three times at Théâtre des Abbesses in Montmartre. Meanwhile, Considering the Lobster, directed by Yana Ross and based on texts by American author David Foster Wallace, was staged three times at Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers.
In total, during its 85th season, LNDT’s productions were performed abroad 15 times. 268 performances took place at the theatre’s own premises, drawing in over 79,000 spectators.