Estonian “Südalinna” Theatre Guest Performance: Marius Ivaškevičius’ “Dawn of the Gods”

Estonian director Elmo Nüganen has staged the play “Dawn of the Gods” by internationally renowned Lithuanian playwright Marius Ivaškevičius at the “Südalinna” Theatre in Tallinn. The production is performed by two different casts – one Russian-speaking and one Estonian.

October 8, 2026, at 18:30 at the Old Theatre of Vilnius. The performance will be in Estonian with Lithuanian surtitles.

E. Nüganen’s production has received the highest praise from critics. Even before its premiere, M. Ivaškevičius’ play about women’s lives and love against the backdrop of war was recognised as one of the best in Europe in the international “EURODRAM” competition. It was also named the best play of 2024 translated into German.

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine caught Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius in East Africa, in Uganda. He was filming his new feature-length film there, which also starred his beloved Ana, who was originally from Ukraine. Mantas wanted to turn a new page in his life – leave behind his work as a documentary filmmaker in war zones around the world and begin a normal life: marry Ana and have children. This was supposed to be their new life, but the war got in the way.

When the Russian army approached Mariupol, Mantas realised that he could no longer live like an ordinary person. He knew the people of Mariupol and had been making a film about them. When the city was besieged, he went there to finish the film. Ana went with him. He managed to work and film for several weeks before falling into the hands of the Russian army and being killed. Ana did not know what had happened to him. She searched for her missing husband in the war-torn city, where bullets flew and bombs fell on both sides of the front line, until she was finally shown the place where he had been killed.

She managed to escape secretly, take the documentary footage and her husband’s body with her, and reach Lithuania. The film was later edited in Paris and titled “Mariupolis 2”. After his death, its creator was awarded the European Film Award for Best Documentary.