THE LAND OF RAIN

“Those who do not remember the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.”
— George Santayana

“The Land of Rain” is a performance built through biographical improvisation, where the voices and bodies of actors sitting in a circle bring to life some of the most defining events of Lithuania’s 20th-century history.

The interconnected stories of people who lived during the interwar and post-war periods — experiences drawn from the grandparents, relatives, and even complete strangers connected to the creators of the performance — reveal the difficult choices and everyday struggles of ordinary Lithuanian people who found themselves trapped in brutal political circumstances and fighting to preserve their humanity.

“The Land of Rain” avoids accusations and political confrontation. Instead, it approaches Lithuania’s past through fragments of personal memories — small pieces of life woven into a sensitive performance marked by subtlety and a quiet, sincere form of patriotism.

The real stories recreated and interpreted by the actors emerge from tiny details: sounds, gestures, glances, and authentic objects. These elements allow the audience to come closer to a living, breathing past.

Human joys and hardships, stories of happy and painful love, relationships, and personal experiences — the essential elements of both individual and collective existence — remain present even in the face of repression and dramatic political change. In “The Land of Rain”, they become a deeply personal lesson in history, one that cannot be found in textbooks.

Premiere: 30 November 2011

Supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania

Final performance: 1 December 2026 — “The Land of Rain” will be performed for the last time.

Awards and Recognition:

• 2012 — Audience award for Best Performance on the Small Stage at the festival “Lithuanian Theatre Spring ’12”
• 2012 — Nominated for the Golden Cross of the Stage award for Best National Dramaturgy