2024 marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), the founder of German classical philosophy. In commemoration of this anniversary, the State Vilnius Little Theater together with the director Oskars Koršunovs on February 21. 18.30:XNUMX p.m. invites the audience to the sketch-readings of the play "Kantas" by playwright Mariaus Ivaškevičius, in which a large group of actors loved by the audience participate.
The play "Kant" is, in a sense, breaking a person into fragments and trying to put them back together. Namely, the inner man or inner man, that which makes up our consciousness and even our subconscious or soul, if it exists. And after dissection, we try to see how that being (man) interacts with the environment around him. Is it necessary for this planet at all, or is it worth replacing with something else? The action takes place at the very end of the 18th century, and this is the very end of the era. Soon the Great French Revolution will take place, which will irreversibly change this still slow, restrained world of wigs and artificial moles that hide the signs of syphilis on the face. The heroes of the play subconsciously feel the approach of this end and the beginning of something new, and this strongly resonates with today's world - the feeling that we are living at the end of an era and soon a new and completely unknown one will begin. They are even just like us experiencing catastrophic climate change, of which they do not know, but feel its mystical effects - a volcano erupts in Iceland and ash snows across Northern Europe that poison agricultural production. People die, it is not clear from what. And this is the moment when a person, who feels like the ruler of the universe, is lowered to the ground and his insignificance against the forces of nature is shown, - says the play's author and playwright Marius Ivaškevičius.
When asked how the idea to write the play "Kant" came about, playwright Marius Ivaškevičius replied: "The idea to create this play was born in 2009, when I happened to meet the legendary Lithuanian theater director Eimuntas Nekrošiaus at the airport and he was holding a book by Immanuel Kant in his hands. If he asked me if I could write a play based on I. Kant's major work, The Critique of Pure Reason, he would immediately set about producing it. As I later understood, he had reached such a stage in his profession when he wanted impossible challenges - to stage an impossible performance. After returning from the trip, I rushed to read The Critique of Pure Reason, and it was the first time in my life that I could not "enter" the text. Realizing that without philosophy studies, this is simply impossible, I turned to Lithuanian Kantists for help. It was only when they popularly presented the main theses of this book to me that I was able to read The Critique of Pure Reason. Next began a detailed study of the biography of I. Kant, and finally I sat down to write a play. E. Nekorashias did not stage this play, although he tried to start it several times, but every time he was blocked. The world premiere of the play took place in 2013 at the Mayakovsky Theater in Moscow. Later, in 2018, it was also staged in the Tallinn City Theater (Tallinn Linnateater)".
"Marius Ivaškevičius's play Kantas is very open to ideas, it is kind of non-Kethic, reminiscent of the work of existentialists, absurdists - for example, Daniil Charms. There is strong humor here, sometimes black. In fact, this play is about time, its absence, its transcendence. It has no obvious social, societal relevance - which in itself becomes interesting and unexpectedly original. In its irrelevance, it suddenly becomes very relevant. The play is very musical, atmospheric, and, as is characteristic of all Marius plays, it is one thing to read them and quite another to act them. When you read it, everything seems very strange and organic, thought out, and when you move to the acting, you suddenly realize that there is a lot for the actors to do here. I feel the potential of this play - it could be very interesting work in terms of acting. Of course, this is a philosophical play, which is also quite rare these days. Drawing a parallel with I. Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason", this play is a kind of "Critique of Pure Theater" or "Critique of Pure Dramaturgy" - here the polemic is against dramaturgy itself. It is an intelligent play, and it is not an easy read. I think that in an intellectual sense we have not had such plays in the Lithuanian language yet. It is a truly unique work, and we have the opportunity to touch many fundamental things through it," says Oskars Koršunovas, the director of the Kantas sketch.
The creative group of the sketch: director - Oskars Koršunovas, author and playwright - Marius Ivaškevičius. The sketch features: Kirilas Glušajevas, Ramūnas Cicėnas, Audrius Bružas, Leonardas Pobedonoscevs, Jokūbas Bareikis, Mantas Vaitiekūnas, Vytautas Rumšas jun., Daumantas Ciunis, Indrė Patkauskaitė, Ilona Kvietkutė, Gintarė Latvėnaitė-Glušajeva, Valda Bičkutė, Greta Šepliakovaitė.
You can see director Oskars Koršunov's sketch based on the play Kantas by playwright Mariaus Ivaškevičius on February 21. 18.30:XNUMX p.m. In the State Small Theater of Vilnius. Tickets are distributed by the theater box office and bilietai.lt.
