This Year at SIRENOS – Performances by Avignon Festival Artistic Director Tiago Rodrigues

2025 June 25

The international theatre festival “Sirenos” launches its new three-year program under the slogan “Theatre is a weapon”, presenting performances that explore urgent—though often uncomfortable—societal dilemmas. This year, the spotlight falls on the work of humanist and Artistic Director of the Avignon Festival, Tiago Rodrigues; on queer themes and how they are expressed in Lithuanian theatre; as well as on forums and meetings with creators from the Baltic and Nordic regions.

“What can theatre warn us about today? What role does it play in a world that’s disappearing, moving apocalyptically toward ruin and self-destruction? Every day, reality seems to leap out of the pages of catastrophe reports and into our lives—wars, pandemics, natural disasters hang over us like the sword of Damocles,” says Sirenos Artistic Director Kristė Agota Savė, announcing the 2025 festival program.

Kristė Agota Savė

The word sirenos in Lithuanian is ambiguous—it refers both to a warning siren and to a mythological creature luring one across boundaries. And that’s what this festival is all about. Sirenos will take place from September 25 to October 13, organized by the Theatre Information Centre.

Tiago Rodrigues: Where Poetry Meets Politics

This year’s highlight is the collaboration with Tiago Rodrigues, the esteemed Artistic Director of the renowned Avignon Festival, who will bring two of his productions to Vilnius. One of the most significant theatre-makers in contemporary Europe, the Portuguese director and playwright is known for blending poetry with politics, existential questions with current affairs. “At heart, he is a humanist, deeply concerned with empathy and how the modern world is eroding it,” wrote The New York Times.

Since 2022, Rodrigues has led one of the world’s most important theatre festivals. Over recent years, he has gained international acclaim and won numerous national and international awards. He has taught at contemporary dance schools in Brussels, Switzerland, and across several art institutions in Portugal.

“We had met Tiago and his partner and creative collaborator Magda Bizzaro at various festivals while he was still Artistic Director of the Queen Maria II National Theatre in Lisbon. Later, we worked together on a project funded by Creative Europe. I’ve long admired Tiago’s ability to draw parallels between ancient or classical texts and modern-day issues, to find poetry in the everyday, and to notice the small but essential details,” says Kristė Agota Savė. “He gladly accepted our invitation to come to Lithuania and generously agreed to lead a masterclass and meet with audiences—free of charge.”

Tiago Rodrigues

On Revenge and Democracy

Sirenos will feature two works by Tiago Rodrigues. The dystopian play titled “Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists” will be performed at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre’s Main Hall on October 9 and 10. The performance explores themes of empathy, violence, revenge, and democracy.

In southern Portugal, a family has an unusual tradition: once a year, they leave their everyday lives to kill a fascist. They do this in honor of Catarina, a peasant woman who fought for her rights and was murdered. For over 70 years, they’ve gathered at their estate for this annual ritual. This time, the youngest Catarina is supposed to kill her first fascist—but she refuses. Her decision sparks family tensions and conflict, raising urgent questions: Who is a fascist? Is there a place for violence in the fight for a better world? Can we break the rules of democracy in order to protect it?

Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists has won Best Foreign Production awards in both Italy and France, while lead actress Béatriz Maïa received the Giuseppe Bertolucci Prize.

Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists | Carlos Fernandez

Preserving What Matters Most

Rodrigues’s other piece, “By Heart”, will be staged on October 8 and 10 in the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre’s Small Hall. The play was inspired by conversations with his grandmother, whose eyesight was failing. Wanting to continue enjoying her favorite works, she began memorizing them. From this intimate story, Rodrigues crafted a performance that defends the secret space in our minds and hearts where we keep what matters most—words, poetry, and memories.

Memorization here becomes a symbol of exchange and transmission—an invisible form of smuggling words and ideas that only happens when we learn texts by heart. This performance speaks to the idea of theatre as a place for such exchanges—exchanges that can’t be measured in meters, euros, or bytes. By Heart is a tribute to poetry, memory, and freedom.

The show has toured many international stages. In Vilnius, audiences will see Rodrigues perform in By Heart himself. He will also meet with festivalgoers, lead a professional masterclass, and present the Avignon Festival.

By Heart | Christophe Raynaud de Lage

A Queer Perspective

Another key part of Sirenos is the Lithuanian theatre program, which showcases a selection of the most important and intriguing recent stage works, curated each year by a different artist. According to Artistic Director Kristė Agota Savė, this year’s theme—“Theatre is a weapon”—naturally led to a focus on what artists are trying to defend, what matters to them, and what they are fighting for. From this emerged a queer subtheme.

This year’s Lithuanian program, titled “A Queer Perspective”, is curated by director Naubertas Jasinskas. He says that stories from marginalized voices—on stage or in any form of art—are deeply meaningful to him. He encourages a broad interpretation of “queer”: “There are many perspectives—creators who belong to the community or support it, who aim to bring people together, to tell the stories of those pushed to the margins, to speak about mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, the representation of women in theatre, migrants who are denied asylum, and more.”

The works selected by Jasinskas will be seen by theatre professionals from international festivals and institutions, as well as by an international jury awarding prizes for the most memorable performances. More details about the Lithuanian theatre program will be announced in June.

Naubertas Jasinskas

Meetings, Forums, and Pop-ups

Audiences can also look forward to a queer pop-up event, a full day of programming, and various Club activities. In addition, there will be networking and educational events including: the Baltic Drama Forum (co-organized with MMLAB), the “Baltic Drama Think Tank” gathering Finnish and Baltic playwrights, a meeting of the Nordic network “Concept Touring”, and more.