LRT shares news of Lithuanian theater showcases

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Excursions are intended for foreign experts coming to Lithuania:

12:30 – guide Paulius leads the tour
12:45 – guide Dalia leads the tour

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Ričardas Gavelis’ book “Vilnius Poker” is up to this day referred to as one of the most important texts written in and about Vilnius. For many this book has become a symbol of liberation from the Soviet era and a symbol of creative freedom, that deconstructed the Soviet reality, and was not afraid to have an opinion about jazz, architecture, arts, urban anthropology and multiculturalism.

The novel is set in the late Soviet era, which is the time of the most vibrant work of the authors who make up the bulk of the MO Museum’s collection. Therefore, the social, political and cultural issues of the time, as well as the life of the city of Vilnius and its inhabitants, are reflected in the artists’ works. The MO Museum collection also includes art that was ideologically unacceptable in the Soviet Union. It is also one of the many themes linking the collection to the exhibition.

In the exhibition, director Oskaras Koršunovas, artist Gintaras Makarevičius and curators Dovilė Barcytė and Algė Gudaitytė pose the question – what kind of a character is Vilnius nowadays, and as what kind of character do we imagine it in the future?

List of Artists:

Valentinas Antanavičius (1936), Žygimantas Augustinas (1973), Arūnas Baltėnas (1956), Aidas Bareikis (1967), Kostas Dereškevičius (1937–2023), Antanas Dubra (1987), Nerijus Erminas (1976), Vincentas Gečas (1931–2020), Kęstutis Grigaliūnas (1957), Almantas Grikevičius (1935–2011), Marius Ivaškevičius (1973), Evaldas Jansas (1969), Matas Janušonis (1994), Vytautas Kalinauskas (1929–2001), Tauras Kensminas (1991), Dainius Liškevičius (1970), Vitas Luckus (1943–1987), Gintaras Makarevičius (1965), Ieva Martinaitytė-Mediodia (1968), Rimantas Milkintas (1977), Orūnė Morkūnaitė-Gibavičienė (1972), Henrikas Natalevičius (1953), Audrius Novickas (1968), Raimondas Paknys (1954), Liudas Parulskis (1971), Igoris Piekuras (1935–2006), Artūras Raila (1962), Eglė Rakauskaitė (1967), Eglė Ridikaitė (1966), Marija Teresė Rožanskaitė (1933–2007), Šarūnas Sauka (1958), Mindaugas Skudutis (1948), Raimundas Sližys (1952–2008), „Solo Ansamblis“, Rūta Spelskytė (1985), Aloyzas Stasiulevičius (1931), Algirdas Steponavičius (1927–1996), Arvydas Šaltenis (1944), Šarūnas Šimulynas (1939–1999), Vytautas Tomaševičius (1972), Teodoras Kazimieras Valaitis (1934–1974), Romanas Vilkauskas (1949–2018), Mikalojus Povilas Vilutis (1944), Kazimiera Zimblytė (1933–1999), Gintaras Znamierowski (1970), Gediminas Lapė (1966), Algimantas Kunčius (1939), Paulius Kilbauskas (1976), Eugenijus Sabaliauskas (1973).

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With his critical, sharp and topical works, internationally renowned Lithuanian director O. Koršunovas staged his first play “There to be Here” in Vilnius in 1990. This play started a completely new phase in the history of Lithuanian theatre and reflected the reality of the time of Gavelis’ “Vilnius Poker” through the lens of absurd.

Published in 1989, Gavelis’ “Vilnius Poker” is not only a comprehensive deconstruction of the collapsing Soviet system, but also one of the first Lithuanian books dealing with the city and its citizens. Vilnius is one of the most important characters here. Through the prism of the city, the novel reveals the search for national and cultural identity. There is no single truth, no single storyline or answer, which is why Vilnius Poker can be considered one of the first works of postmodern Lithuanian literature.