Director, scenographer – Agnius Jankevičius

Video designer – Arvydas Gudas

Lighting designer – Deividas Janavicus

Music selected by – Agnius Jankevičius

Assistant director – Eglė Kuzienė

Agnius Jankevičius’ darkly satirical musical performance Reform is based on his original play of the same title and examines the societal shifts currently reshaping Europe, with Lithuania being an integral part of it. While migration is often seen as a pressing issue, the play highlights an even more pervasive and insidious challenge: the global rise of irrelevance. This growing sense of losing purpose, both societal and personal, acts as a destructive force, trapping individuals in cycles of despair. It breeds chaos, absurdity, and, at its worst, violence.

In Lithuania’s rural provinces, the abandonment of homesteads has become a stark reality – and this is no exaggeration. The town of Skakiškis has not been spared. Once known for its bright high school graduates and a thriving cheese and butter factory, the town now struggles to survive. Even in the face of decline, hope remains. Among the residents are three determined schoolteachers who refuse to let Skakiškis fade into obscurity. Together, they devise an ambitious plan to transform the town into a new Promised Land.

Reform offers a sharp and satirical perspective on the intertwined issues of displacement and irrelevance, focusing on characters marginalized and cast aside by society. Bad actions lead to worse consequences, and inappropriate behaviour spirals into further misconduct. The grim paradox is that all of it stems from the basic human instinct to survive.

The play addresses sweeping changes in Europe while reflecting on universal questions of human dignity, self-worth, altruism, and pragmatism. The creative team drew inspiration from the irreverent humour of South Park and the surreal, poetic style of Roy Andersson’s Living Trilogy.

Agnius Jankevičius (b. 1979) is a renowned theatre director, actor, and educator, recognized as one of the leading voices of Lithuania’s middle generation of theatre-makers. Throughout his 20-year career, he has directed numerous productions in Lithuania’s professional theatres and earned acclaim for his work on both stage and screen.

The performance features: „Time To Say Goodbye“; Зина и Люда Фатеевайте. «Бичи Божьи»; Angelo Badalamenti. „Just you“; „Bass Communion Ghost On Magnetic Tape II“; Liftconcert Jasper Steverlinck. „Ik mis je zo“; Jeff Greinke. „The Moor“; Elvis Presley. „Love Me Tender“.

The performance uses smoke, bright flashes of light, and contains obscene language.

Performed in Lithuanian, with Russian captions.