Creative Group
Directed by – Agnius Jankevičius
Stage and Costume Designer – Laura Luišaitytė
Lighting Design by – Pijus Vasiliauskas
Video Design by – Arvydas Gudas
Stage Manager – Eglė Kuzienė
Translation of the play into russian – Agnius Jankevičius
Martyr Martyr Martyr Martyr Martyr Martyr
Marius von Mayenburg’s Martyr has been staged in many theatres throughout Europe. The play tells the story of Benjamin, a teenager raised by a single mother. When she learns that her son is having problems at school, she immediately thinks of drugs. But the boy ‘gets hooked’ on something else entirely – the Bible. The student finds all the answers in the Holy Scripture, turning it into a tool for tormenting and terrorising others. Benjamin thinks he’s the only one who can tell right from wrong. This leads to conflicts, confrontation and psychological warfare. At school, Benjamin declares war on lewdness. He refuses to go to the swimming pool because girls in bikinis offend his religious feelings. And this is just the beginning.
Von Mayenburg wrote this play in 2012 and staged it personally at Berlin’s Schaubühne theatre the same year. The work, consisting of 27 short and specific scenes, resembles a screenplay and explores a broad range of topical issues: the struggle of ideas, the role of extremism and religion in society, the contradictions in Western culture, polarisation, the threat of bigotry, and how it all relates to religion. The play depicts a total disruption of the adult world and society in general in the face of Christian radicalism. Theatre critics compare the play’s impact to the explosion of a hand grenade – the text deconstructs neoliberalism, political correctness and tolerance, while openly criticising the superstitions that tempt young minds. Martyr equates the passionate frenzy of sexual and social maturation with religious fervour for a reason.
Performed in Russian, with Lithuanian captions. If you want to see the captions clearly, we recommend choosing seats in the stalls from the 7th row.
Photos by Laura Vansevičienė
Cast
Willy Batzler (director) – Valentinas Krulikovskis
Erika Roth (biology, chemistry, geography) – Jevgenija Gladij
Markus Dörflinger (history, physical education) – Viačeslav Lukjanov
Father Menrath (religious education) – Valentin Novopolskij
Benjamin Südel (schoolboy) – Igoris Abramovičius
Inge Südel (his mother) – Anastasija Špakovskaja
Georg Hansen (schoolboy) – Artur Svorobovič
Lydia Weber (schoolgirl) – Edita Gončarova
Christian – Ainis Kazlauskas
Pupils – Students of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater Gabrielė Baubaitė, Karolina Kildaitė, Mila Ivanova, Ignas Antanas Giniotis, Elina Kuprijaškinaitė, Gabija Minkevičiūtė, Simonas Goptaitis, Ainis Kazlauskas, Žygimantas Vainauskas, Gustas Vičkačka (teachers: professor Aidas Giniotis, doc. Agnius Jankevičius, doc. Ieva Stundžytė)
Martyr Martyr Martyr
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