BLACK–WHITE

“Black–White” is a theatre production created using the unique Atviras Ratas (Open Circle) method, continuing the tradition of the company’s acclaimed biographical improvisation performances, “Open Circle” and “Land of Rain.” The play is built around the real-life stories of a generation born and raised during the Soviet era, whose lives were profoundly shaped by the Sąjūdis movement and Lithuania’s path to independence.

Life under Soviet occupation produced people with vastly different biographies and worldviews. Some grew up surrounded by fear and learned to adapt to the system, while others were driven by the desire to resist oppression and believe that even an apparently unbreakable regime would eventually come to an end.

For this generation, the Sąjūdis movement and the restoration of Lithuania’s independence represented not only sweeping political change but also a time of deeply personal choices. Passive observers, courageous activists willing to risk their own and their families’ safety, and skeptics alike all found their own place in history, guided by their beliefs and convictions.

“Black–White” offers an intimate and honest perspective on these lives. More than thirty years later, at a time when new historic turning points once again seem within arm’s reach, the creative team reflects on how the choices made by different individuals have shaped—and continue to shape—the society in which we live today.