Director and author of stage adaptation – Andrius Darela

Scenographer and Costume Designer – Tatjana Dorialo

Lighting Designer – Veniamin Dmitroškin

Sound Designer – Vitalij Leonov

Production Manager – Aleksandra Šalkinė

Featuring original songs by Oleg Skrypka

Strange Spring is based on the fairy-tale collection of the same name, Strange Spring (A Few Random Fairy Tales) (Ukrainian: Дивна весна (кілька випадкових казок)) by the Ukrainian playwright Oleg Mikhailov, written in the spring of 2022.

It was a strange spring indeed: suddenly, great stones began falling from the sky, shattering the familiar lives of the little animals. But what had happened? Why could the bear cub no longer wander through the flowering meadow? Why was it already March, and yet the cats had vanished into hiding? And why had a parrot, a little mouse and a toad ended up in the underground?

The characters come to understand that the most important things in life are not toys and sweets, but kindness and compassion. With these, they are able to overcome fear and weather every difficulty, even when they are only tiny creatures facing a mighty giant. In each challenge they face, the heroes must make a vital choice – and, above all, stand together.

Strange Spring is a production for all the family that explores meaningful and relevant themes, showing how important it is to be brave, and to help one another no matter what.

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Oleg Mikhailov is a Ukrainian playwright who writes actively on social media about what is happening in his country. Productions based on his stories and posts have been staged in Ukraine, Finland, Poland and Estonia.

Andrius Darela is an actor and director who also works in film, and writes plays as well as stage adaptations. His directing credits include Malysh (Sweet Kid)(based on a play by Marius Ivaškevičius), The Performance That Never Happened, What For, and The Third Shift (based on a play by Pavel Pryazhko), among others.

With thanks to Bardai.lt as well as the charity and support fund SOS vaikų kaimų Lietuvoje draugija for their cooperation.

The sketch version of the production, presented in 2025, was partially funded by the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

Cast:

Bear Cub, Cormorant, Karl the Parrot – Kyrylo Kremenchuk

Armadillo, Ginger Cat, Lesya the Dog – Alisia Nesterova

Berehynia, Natalya Petrovna the Mouse – Jevgenija Gladij

Mother Berehynia, Bear Cub’s Mum, Matilda the Toad – Elena Krivda

Photos by Telman Ragimov