This season, two theaters in the capital also open their stages with Polish plays – Krystian Lupa will present “The Enchanted Mountain” based on Thomas Mann at the Youth Theater, and “Quanta” is already the third work of the Polish director Łukasz Twarkowski at the Lithuanian National Drama Theater, and he, as if defying criticism, freely young theater art directors give way.
Without laughing, it could be said that the National Theater is the theater presenting the most works by foreigners in Lithuania, and this is not a criticism – shouldn’t this be one of the areas of activity of this most generously financed drama stage?
Twarkowski, who impressed many local theaters with “Lokiu”, which presented a machinery of images and technology not seen on our stage, and later invited him to a long rave party based on dubious communication between actors and audience in “Republika”, should travel in an upward direction with his ideas.
This seems to be the case when solid European stage co-producers are used for the performance (among them Onassis Stegi and DeSingel), and the total estimate of the performance, as issued by the theater management, is close to EUR 400,000. The Lithuanian side only makes up a quarter, and if this amount also offends someone – welcome to the art market, where art also costs money.
However, the contributions of co-producers do not necessarily indicate artistic inspiration – rather, the artist’s ability to enchant theater or festival managers, especially by the example of “Respublika” and the tours of this theater offering an unusual theater, even more, a theatrical experience.
The director, a confessor and creator of multimedia spectacle, knows that experience is the most sought-after commodity today. It is more important to him than the content and meanings that are not included in this package. What’s the point of a billionaire tourist going into outer space? Twarkowski ignores the meaning, which is why he offers us to experience at least some weightlessness.
LNDT archive photo/Łukasz Twarkowski’s performance “Quanta”
“Wake up from reality” is the motto of the National Theater this season. But is “waking up to unreality” the necessity of today, the escapism offered by theater creators? Apparently, it worked: before the performance had even started, it started to scare people – due to technical obstacles, they were invited to wait at least half an hour, not to silence, but to turn off their phones or turn on flight mode. The evacuation of the audience from the theater successfully contributed to the experience – many thought that it was also staged (although from a normal, no longer playful point of view, such a reaction is already dangerous in today’s reality).
The sounds of the stage are very strong, the images are strobes, sharp flashes. A lot of stimuli, which are here the main part of the director’s professed club aesthetic. But when they become paramount, there is little, if any, room for communication. Or – you communicate differently. That’s why the words or the plot here go behind smoke screens.
And the plot is fictitious: in 1938, the world’s most famous physicists meet in a Swiss hotel to discuss not the principles they discovered, but their unprincipled lives with ex-wives and future partners. He talks about physics as if his colleagues were first-graders: he introduces Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, quanta, Schrődinger’s paradox – until one of the characters says “I’ve had enough!” Enough, because it leads nowhere.
The looming war remains only in the background, and the question is, how will we behave when we are called upon to develop bombs? – the most poignant in the entire performance – is not explored further. One withdraws from reality into melodramatic relationships, into drugs, gossip, and everything reeks of undirected boredom.
Aušra Pociūtė’s photo/Rehearsal of Lukasz Twarkowski’s performance “Quanta”.
The scene is a really beautiful hotel art deco a wall (set designer Fabien Lédé) behind which the live actors cannot be seen, so we watch everything from the hairstyles to the Tiffany lamps only on the big screen. The multi-camera montages, their journeys, fascinating angles try to liven up the party we all got stuck into, but the clip is not born.
Contrary to the dance between the cameras and the characters on the stage, the synchronous choreography of the stage and the screen in perhaps Twarkowski’s most successful performance in the “Rotkho” Riga Art Theater, here we stay at the screen, and we watch a bad movie in the theater for the entire first part. Because the principle why such aesthetics were chosen, what is the relationship between the images on the stage and on the screen, is not justified by anything, the matter is not conceptualized. But that is not taken care of, stroboscopes and powerful sound remain (is it really medically safe and suitable for heart massage?).
Therefore, the performance is like Schrődinger’s cat: the drama seems to be trying to be presented, but it is so complicated that it is not there at all. And this is one of the main obstacles to the persuasiveness of the story. Playwright Joanna Bednarczyk does not create original works, but rather imitates the creation of a play using certain methods – in an attempt to create the impression of mystery, she breaks up two or three simultaneous dialogues into a jumble of separate phrases.
The character will never get the right answer to the real question, and it’s becoming a cliché in bad drama. Bluffing is an idea that cannot be caught, so they try to create their own puzzles. Everything seems important, but in the second part it turns into the most banal melodrama.
Aušra Pociūtė’s photo/Rehearsal of Lukasz Twarkowski’s performance “Quanta”.
Another reason for that lackluster movie in the theater is the acting. At the very beginning of the performance, Florian Illies’ books (“1913”, “1914”) present what happened in 1938. The last phrase – Konstantin Stanislavski died. Here it could become essential in deciding where the actors will go. But it seems that such a question did not even occur to the creators, and here is another “Schrödinger”: are the actors acting, or are they only pretending to be acting? What is their relationship with the characters, with time?
Neither stylization nor its drastic denial, the actors, simply forgotten in that hotel, are trying to put on their hats amateurishly, because the director is only interested in the cosmos of physics and technology without any quanta of sympathy. Therefore, on the screen we see shots from another poor Lithuanian TV series. The actors are left to speak enigmatically and wear beautiful costumes, and it’s left to Loïe Fuller’s superbly resurrected Serpentine Dance to bring the eras together.
It was built by Fuller in 1891. Madison Square Theater and the Folies Bergère cabaret in Paris, combining the fluttering of Chinese silk with unprecedented lighting and music. The fusion of image and sound gathered the audience, pure aesthetic pleasure required only the use of imagination, and the scene acquired an abstract dimension.
Aušra Pociūtė’s photo/Rehearsal of Lukasz Twarkowski’s performance “Quanta”.
The finale of “Quantas” is like a reference to the origin of the connection between light and sound. But as if that wasn’t enough, we’re treated to a quarter-and-a-half hour of vague meaning, and every scene is given importance. Lubomir Grzelak’s excellent music builds tension, but all this does not give away the essence of the play: why it is important for me to know. However, applause and ovations betray that the audience, as if in the 19th century. In Paris, enchanted because she saw great beauty in the journey of illusion.
Maybe this is exactly what it means to wake up from reality.
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2024-09-17 21:04:17
Emotional journeys and interactions.
The Enchanted Mountain: Polish Director Łukasz Twarkowski Brings Multimedia Spectacle to Lithuania’s National Theater
As the curtain rises on the new season, two theaters in Lithuania’s capital city welcome Polish plays to their stages. One of the most anticipated productions is Łukasz Twarkowski’s “Quanta” at the Lithuanian National Drama Theater, marking the third collaboration between the Polish director and the theater. This latest work is a testament to Twarkowski’s ability to push the boundaries of modern theater, blending technology, multimedia, and experience-driven storytelling.
A Theater of Experience
Twarkowski’s previous works, such as ”Lokiu” and ”Republic”, showcased his mastery of image and technology, transporting audiences to new dimensions. “Quanta” takes this concept further, boasting an impressive budget of EUR 400,000, co-produced by European stage partners Onassis Stegi and DeSingel. The result is an immersive experience that delves into the world of physics and human relationships.
The director’s focus on experience over content and meaning is a deliberate choice, reflecting the desires of modern audiences seeking new and unconventional forms of entertainment. In an era where experience is king, Twarkowski delivers, offering a multimedia spectacle that envelops the audience in a world of strobes, sharp flashes, and pulsating sounds.
A Wake-Up Call from Reality
The Lithuanian National Theater’s motto for the season, “Wake up from reality”, takes on a new meaning with “Quanta”. As audiences are invited to leave their phones behind and immerse themselves in the performance, they are transported to a world of unreality, where the boundaries between theater and reality blur.
The play’s plot, set in 1938, revolves around a group of famous physicists gathered at a Swiss hotel to discuss their personal lives and relationships rather than their groundbreaking discoveries. The introduction of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, quanta, and Schrődinger’s paradox serves as a backdrop for the characters’
