12 Grams to the North

In 2020, the actor Paulius Markevičius was awarded for the National Theatre Award in Lithuania (Golden Stage Cross) for Best Supporting Male Performance.
In 2020, the set designer Barbora Šulniūtė was nominated for the National Theatre Award in Lithuania (Golden Stage Cross) for Best Scenography.

*

Two young couples are spending a weekend in a secluded forest cabin – in their “north”. The birthday celebration is disturbed by an unexpected message about the perish of a person important for each of the friends in its own way. They have to choose: facing the reality and accepting responsibility for themselves and their close ones, or staying in the infinite and eternal “north”, the abyss of giddiness. With inextricable mutual relations slowly evolving, the main themes of the performance – love, life and death – emerge. They are seen in the performance through the lens of mythology and psychoanalysis, poetry and corporeality.

12 Grams To The North is a work of one of the most prominent and beloved by the audience artist Aleksandr Špilevoj, staged together with the actors of The State Small Theatre of Vilnius and the electronic music band Black Water. It is a performance about the quest of love, security and relation between people. And about death, which is always close. “In this performance I sought to open the door of perception. There is so much love behind it. All the characters of the play have their own perception of love. But the topic of death is very important, too. How to preserve the love for yourself, for people and for the world when you are confronted with inevitable death?”, the playwright and director Aleksandr Špilevoj opens up the door of perception of the performance.

12 Grams To The North will engulf you with the flow of music, light, motion, intense action and words for more than two hours. However, at the same time it raises fundamental issues, encouraging to reconsider your values and choices.

“With this performance I wanted to open the doors of perception. There is a lot of love behind it. Each character in the play has his own perception of love. The theme of death is also very important here. How do you preserve love for yourself, for people and for the world facing the imminent death?”

Aleksandr Špilevoj, playwright and director

“12 Grams To The North is like hell dressed in a party costume in which the participants of that party are trapped. In this realm of stagnation, time is measured in birthdays: each episode begins with a celebration of someone’s birthday, but the flow of events as well as the schemes and patterns of action remain the same. <...> In this carousel of frozen time, there are some lessons that need to be learned so that eventually, the mistakes would not be repeated and the resume button could be pressed.”

Laura Šimkutė, theatre critic

Additional information:

(Ages 16+): explicit content, loud noises, flashing lights.