Director – Mantas Jančiauskas

Playwright – Lina Laura Švedaitė

Composer – Mantvydas Leonas Pranulis

Stage Designer – Ona Juciūtė

Video Designer – Kristijonas Dirsė

Lighting Designer – Julius Kuršys

Programmer – Robertas Dumpis

Stage Director’s Assistant  – Andrius Darela

Production Manager – Matas Makauskas

Far Away offers a unique chance to explore Vilnius Old Theatre as you never have before – up close, personal, and guided by the building’s own hidden stories. Woven out of recorded accounts from theatre staff, archival snippets and music, the production breathes life into corners of the building that are normally off-limits to the public, leading you deeper than the eye can see. This is an opportunity to experience the theatre itself. You will encounter both the physical layout of the venue and the layers of historic as well as personal memories absorbed into its walls.

Standing atop Jonas Basanavičius Street, the theatre looms like a slumbering mammoth or a centaur caught in the twists and turns of eras, history and ever-shifting political landscape. In this performance, the building awakes to tell stories about itself and, in a sense, about you. We invite you to have a listen. Expect to be surprised. All five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste – will be activated. You will become the theatre, its history and the centaur – and they, in turn, will become you.

Vilnius Old Theatre was constructed between 1912 and 1914 in what was once Pohulianka Street. The venture was spearheaded by Hipolit Korwin-Milewski, Countess Klementyna Tyszkiewicz, the publisher and intellectual Feliks Zawadzki, and Mieczysław Bogdanowicz, with funds donated by local residents. Though theatres of a similar kind abounded in early 20^th-century Europe, this venue stands out in Lithuania: one of the country’s oldest, it now marks 111 years of activity. Over the years, artistic influences from Polish, Lithuanian and Russian traditions have intertwined here. As a result, these walls have heard nearly every language spoken in Vilnius. This theatre a living fragment of the city and the nation’s history – its very DNA.

The script of Far Away is stitched together from genuine documents – fragments of testimony and recollections – layered into a poetic collage of interwoven voices. The production’s musical concept is grounded in the creative manipulation of field recordings: vintage audio from old performances (spoken text, music) and interviews with theatre staff have been transformed into a modern soundscape with the help of electronic and live instrumentation. The set design is the theatre’s interior itself: real objects from around the building, relics of past performances, retired costumes, artefacts of the prop collection and archival materials – tables, photographs, lamps...

“I’d like to invite the audience into a sort of ‘meditation on memory’. At the same time, I wonder why we cling to certain aspects of the past – what relationship do we have with it? In this space, each era has left its mark, its own voice. Yet whose memory is dominant here? Who, and by what means, decides what we remember and what we forget? And how has a building with a history of housing such varied theatrical ventures become not only a cultural hub, but also a battlefield in the fight over memory?” (Mantas Jančiauskas)

Each spectator explores the theatre alone, navigating its nooks and passages independently. A virtual guide, headphones and technology will ensure that you do not lose your way. There is definitely an exit at the end of the labyrinth!

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Born in 1992, Mantas Jančiauskas represents the new generation of theatre-makers. In 2018, he graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre with a degree in theatre directing under the tutelage of Gintaras Varnas, and has also acted in films. His work experiments with different artistic forms, emphasising documentary content, site-specific theatre, and the integration of technology which broadens the scope of conventional theatre experience. The director’s approach is thoughtful and innovative, often focusing on social themes, and stands out for its fresh take on stage reality. Jančiauskas’ previous productions (Dreamland, The Filler, Starring Marius Repšys, Portal, Tour, Earthquakes, Guided) have won critical acclaim and become highlights of Lithuania’s theatre scene.

The performance was created using the 'Remote Player' platform.

Attention! Smoke is used in the performance.

Performed in Lithuanian and Russian

Photos by Dmitrij Matvejev