Blood Stories is going to be an intriguing surprise for both our audience and the Sirenos team, as it marks the premiere of a unique collaboration between Portuguese and Lithuanian artists. I found Mala Voadora’s proposal to collaborate, dive into the DNA of stories and find where the fates of people from two distant countries might have met very interesting. While it might seem that Lithuania and Portugal have little in common, it’s astonishing to discover that DNA history transmits more information through blood than oral history and memory.

Artistic director of the festival
Kristina Savickienė

“Blood Stories” is a biographical performance and continuous project, developed by a series of pairings of two artists. It is a series that we know how it begins, but we do not know how, nor when, it will end. Each pair will develop a new version of “Blood Stories” – a completely new show – based on the genetic data of each of the artists:

1. Both artists take a DNA test.
2. From their biological characteristics, they begin to know where their ancestors lived.
3. They do historical research that they share online, thinking about how their histories may have crossed, may have intersected: migrations, trade routes that crisscrossed the world, colonialist rule, wars and empires, peace agreements, etc.
4. They meet and organize family dinners, to which the local community is invited, but also scientists (historians, anthropologists, geneticists…), to help them discover their pasts. They’ll talk about science as naturally as you ask the person closest to you to pass the wine or talk about yourself.
5. Although this is a biographical show, to tell the story, to improve it and fill the gaps, both artists will fictionalize stories of love, betrayal, baby-swapping, family rivalries, long journeys. They will use personal and historical documents, as well as paintings. They will create fiction so that they can tell stories they know are true.
6. The performance is presented. Its components – music, choreography, acting, etc. – will result directly from the specificity of the areas of the artists who will participate in each version.

For the “Blood Stories Lithuania”, SIRENOS invited the composer and researcher Jonas Jurkunas. His polyvalence will allow, in the artistic dialogue with Jorge Andrade, the „Blood Stories Lithuania“ to take on emotional environments and, simultaneously, by very diverse musical styles.

About the artist:

Jorge Andrade, founder of the “Mala Voadora” theatre in Porto, Portugal, is a director, actor, writer, and human rights activist. Born in Mozambique, he returned to Portugal at the age of four. His theatre reflects the different cultural experiences of his life, as well as his love for documentaries. However, in his documentary theatre, Jorge Andrade and his team always go beyond the usual boundaries of the genre, using a lot of dance and music, and adding imaginative scenarios to the facts. His performance “Mozambique”, which was supposed to be performed in “Sirenos” in 2020, was cancelled due to the pandemic. Jorge then invited the festival to collaborate with his new work – “Blood Stories.Lithuania”.