Łukasz Twarkowski / Lithuanian National Drama Theatre
| A piece inspired by: | The novel Lokis by Prosper Mérimée and the art and biographies of Bertrand Cantat and Vitas Luckus |
| Written by: | Anka Herbut |
| Directed by: | Łukasz Twarkowski |
| Stage design: | Fabien Lédé |
| Wardrobe design: | Dovilė GudačIauskaitė |
| Composer: | Bogumił Misala |
| Choreographer: | Paweł Sakowicz |
| Video design: | Jakub Lech |
| Lighting design: | Eugenijus Sabaliauskas |
| Playwright’s assistant: | Teklė Kavtaradze |
| Performers: | Darius Gumauskas, Rytis Saladžius, Vainius Sodeika, Saulius Bareikis, Nelė SavičEnko, Elžbieta LatėNaitė, Airida Gintautaitė, Dovilė Šilkaitytė, Gytis Ivanauskas and Arnas Danusas |
“An ambitious and terribly brave production. Original, innovative, mysterious and metaphysical”.Teatralny
In a world dominated by—amongst other things—the concept of post-truth, the phenomenon of fake news, the manipulation of images and mockumentaries, the quest for truth, or at least its recreation, has become essential.
Polish director Łukasz Twarkowski is known for his multidisciplinary works, installations that combine theatre and visual arts with other artistic manifestations. Member of the Identity Problem Group—a Polish collective that merges performance with literature, architecture and sound art (amongst other disciplines)—with which it has signed different theatrical productions and other marginal art forms, Twarkowski has oriented his work on stage to promoting a type of theatre that challenges everything traditional, and is woven through with the possibilities offered by cinema, audiovisual art and multimedia codes. To Twarkowski, theatre should be an extension of reality, which is why he turns to events from our recent history that dissect and are interrelated, to measure their impact on our society.
His research into contemporary fears and the foundations of our behaviour are core themes of Lokis, which draws inspiration from three different sources. First is the homonymous novel by Prosper Mérimée, a great classic in horror fantasy literature in which the theme of the bear-man symbolises human beings’ most atavistic impulses and preoccupations, featuring a man incapable of controlling his behaviour. And the second and third are the controversial and mysterious biographies of two artists: Vitas Luckus, visionary photographer of Lithuanian origin with a complex personal history, which he tossed out the window after becoming aware that, in a fit of rage, he had killed his wife’s friend; and singer Bertrand Cantat, former leader of the French rock band Noir Désir, who in 2003 beat his girlfriend, actress Marie Trintignant, to death during a short trip to Vilna. Three stories beset by mystery, three black holes from which the truth will never be found or recreated.
The work, a psychological thriller that teeters on the edge between theatre and cinema, explores truths, meanings and events through image. Image is everything and can be reproduced as many times as they create a fake truth that we start to believe. But… can this image overcome reality itself?