Based on the stories of the Ukrainian women. Testimonies

‘The present time and the ongoing war have posed a radical challenge to theatre: when reality is as it is now, any fiction becomes too unimportant. Staging a “normal” performance is no longer an option, but keeping silent is also impossible. Dramatisation of what is going on now by taking up the classics and looking for metaphors and analogies in them seems just hopeless. And I don’t think there have emerged any contemporary plays that reflect on what is happening. Thus, the situation itself triggered the idea of creating a performance of documentary theatre. It seems that this is the only form that is possible today,’ says Oskaras Koršunovas, the director of Testimonies.

Testimonies is a documentary play based on true stories told by the women caught up in war. As soon as the war started, the actresses of the LNDT started collecting stories, and they did it on a voluntary basis. They personally met the women who had fled Ukraine and heard them out. Each story is a candid and shocking confession: from the simple details of life to the reality of war, which someone who has not been there simply cannot imagine.

We hear the nonstop news about the war in the public space, a constant information battle is going on, fake news are created, various manipulations occur, and that is why, in the words of the creative team, any true testimony is worth its weight in gold. ‘They really wanted these stories to be made public, to be heard by as many people as possible, and for the world to know the truth,’ say the creators of Testimonies.

The stories like the ones in Testimonies are impossible to find in any media, because they are not a matter-of-fact journalistic interview or a short report from the scene: these are stories told by one woman to another, a Ukrainian woman’s confession to a Lithuanian actress who is determined to give a voice to this story, to tell it sensitively and respectfully yet without unnecessary drama.

‘In no way should this performance be about propaganda, embellishments, or pathos: it is just stories as they are’, emphasises Oskaras Koršunovas, who brought the actresses together for this joint project.

In Testimonies, the audience will hear stories about the loss of homes, forced separations from the loved ones, never-ending concern about children, turbulent escapes out of cities shelled by the Russians, and, on the other hand, about the brutal reality of staying in them. These are the stories of existential choices, of the abused homeland and abused bodies, of inner strength, of intuition that descends as if from nowhere, and of breath-taking coincidences. Paradoxical as it may sound, there is a lot of hope, even humour and optimism in these stories.

Creators:
Director — Oskaras KORŠUNOVAS
Composer — Antanas JASENKA
Video Designer — Artis DZĒRVE
Light designer — Vilius VILUTIS
Text Editor — Živilė ZABLACKAITĖ
Costume Selection by — Karolina FIODOROVAITĖ
Director’s Assistant — Antanas OBCARSKAS
Producer — Kamilė ŽIČKYTĖ

Cast:
Diana ANEVIČIŪTĖ
Jovita BALČIŪNAITĖ
Neringa BULOTAITĖ
Jurga KALVAITYTĖ
Vaiva MAINELYTĖ
Rasa RAPALYTĖ
Jūratė VILŪNAITĖ

Premiere: 18th October, 2022
Duration: 1 h 45 min (one act)
N-18

*April 28th performance will be with English surtitles