Director R. Atkočiūnas,''Talking seriously about serious things nowadays are even indecent.'' 3

Jolanta Garnytė-Jadkauskienė
www.kamane.lt, 2015-09-02
Director Rolandas Atkočiūnas. Photo from NKDT archive

In brief: Journalists and reviewers who write on theatre topics know very well how important it is to find the right time to talk with the director overwhelmed by the premiere. This time, we meet the director of Dea Loher's "Clara's Relationships" - Rolandas Atkočiūnas, whose premiere we will see at the Kaunas Sate Drama Theatre on September 25, 26 and 27. We meet at a very peculiar time - after the closed preview of the performance, during the corrective rehearsals.

 

Dea Loher's play "Clara's Relationships" was written in 1999. I wondered why director decided to realize it now. "Nothing has really changed," says the director. "Perhaps on contrary - the questions raised in the play became more solid. I have to admit it was kind of a challenge to me - a female dramaturgy and feminine understanding of the world. I believe this play is very personal. Author gives a lot of herself, her understanding and confession about what is happening around her an every one of us.

“This play is about our relationships. It shows how much human is left in our technocratic age. Of course, we do not have to talk about it. After reading the material, I became interested in who Clara was, how she understood her being and what was happening with her. She is one of us. By the way, Clara knows what she does not need, what bothers her, but she does not have a plan. Her plan is to go through herself, act with herself. That is why she sacrifices herself, but no one accepts it.”

 

I wondered whether director agrees with the statement that characters in "Clara's Relationships" are like grotesque figures. Especially the former teacher Elizabeth (actress Inesa Paliulytė) R. Atkočiūnas says that there is some grotesque, "because Elizabeth is most exposed to the social circumstances. She is like a leftover of society. We can find such characters on the street. They are very theatrical. Grotesque is not specifically intended it rises from the tension. Everybody lacks something: some lack vitamins, others - communication. Let's agree that we are overwhelmed by modern means of communication through Facebook, written comments. There is no face-to-face communication left. Theatre is a place that still tries to maintain the dialog with a viewer, even if they are silent - they are listening."


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