Golden Stage Cross Award-Winning Play Open the Door Goes on Tour in Europe

The National Kaunas Drama Theatre officially begins the season of international tours. Within the next few days, the play Open the Door, directed by Justinas Vinciūnas and based on the play by Aristide Tarnagda from Burkina Faso, will be performed in three European countries: on 11 April in Croatia, at the Ivan Zajc Croatian National Theatre; on 13 August in Norway, at the Corner Theatre in Bergen; and on 24 August in Austria, at the WUK Centre for Culture and Arts in Vienna.

The one-part performance Open the Door is part of Deconfining, a cultural exchange project between the continents of Africa and Europe, where the historical and cultural contexts of two entirely distinct continents converge. The collaborative project brings together more than 250 artists, 2,500 representatives of cultural organisations, 400 cultural stakeholders from the two continents, and more than 30 countries working together to create an inclusive platform for European-African cooperation. This will then be expanded to other regions of the world.

The poignant story by playwright Aristide Tarnagda is universal. It reflects both the rampage of terrorism in the playwright’s home continent and the military context in Europe. However, the director and his creative team emphasise not so much the political conflict, but rather the family drama through the experiences of the protagonist, his struggle between nihilism and idealism, and the notion of atonement. Is it possible to forgive oneself after taking another person’s life? This play invites the audience not only to witness the cooperation between countries from very distant and contrasting cultures, but also to observe the universal spiritual struggle of an individual.

The performance reminds us of the power of art to build bridges between seemingly very distant social contexts, historical experiences, and geographical continents. Earlier in this project, NKDT, together with artists from Senegal, Dakar, the art gallery Raw Material Company, and the artist collective The School of Mutants (Stéphane Bottéro, Hamedine Kane, and Valérie Osouf), produced a short film Dialogue from between the Worlds. It reconstructed an imaginary dialogue between film artists who have never met, the Senegalese Ousmane Sembène and the Lithuanian avant-garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas from New York. The film depicts something that historically never happened. Meanwhile, Open the Door adopts a different strategy; it represents what is taking place everywhere and always: war, family, insiders, and outsiders.

A talented international team of artists has contributed to the performance. The set design is by Boubacar Souley Salifou, and the costume designer and co-designer of the set is Patricija Vytytė. The lighting designer of the play is Vladimir Šerstabojev. Music by Mantas Mockus. The play is translated by Vytas Kraujelis.

Awarded Two Golden Stage Crosses

The play premiered on 13 September 2024 and was immediately lauded by the public. The jury of the professional performing arts also appreciated the successful international work of the creators, and two members of the production team were awarded the highest awards of the 2024 season. The Golden Stage Cross for an emerging artist was awarded to the director of the production, Justinas Vinciūnas, and in the category of music, the Golden Stage Cross was awarded to the play’s composer, Mantas Mockus.

The characters of the play are captured by actors Povilas Barzdžius, Eglė Mikulionytė, Robertas Petraitis, Kęstutis Povilaitis, and Sigitas Šidlauskas.

Performance partners: “Les Recreatales” (Burkina Faso). The project is co-funded by the European Union, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.

NKDT information

Photos by D. Stankevičius

PROJECT IS FUNDED