Lithuanian State Youth Theatre | “PHILOCTETES” | Directed by Cezaris Graužinis

The performance is in Lithuanian with English surtitles.

Sophocles’ “Philoctetes” is a tragedy about morality, personal choices, and the conflict between the individual and society.

In the tenth year of the Trojan War, an oracle predicts that Troy cannot be defeated without Achilles’ son Neoptolemus and Philoctetes, who holds Heracles’ magical bow and arrows. Philoctetes received this weapon for lighting Heracles’ funeral fire. Yet, on their way to Troy, his companions, persuaded by Odysseus, abandoned him on the deserted island of Lemnos because of an incurable wound. Now Neoptolemus and the cunning Odysseus return to convince him to join the war.

The deserted island becomes a place where two worlds meet: one built on honour, justice and compassion, and another driven by ambition and practical gain. Philoctetes’ bow represents a person’s moral values and identity – what we choose to live for and how we remain true to ourselves.

“This tragedy gives us a chance to rediscover the beauty of human critical thinking and the power of compassion,” says director Cezaris Graužinis. After two decades of living and working in Greece, he returns to the State Youth Theatre, where he began his career in 1989 with “Hunger”, based on Knut Hamsun.