Madagascar
Performance
A play in two acts
Marius Ivaškevičius
Directed by Rimas Tuminas and Arvydas Dapšys
Duration – 3 hrs
Premiere date – 28th September, 2004
Upcoming dates
Team
Set and costume design
Vilma Galeckaitė-Dabkienė
Music design
Faustas Latėnas
Acting
KAZIMIERAS POKŠTAS
Tomas Rinkūnas / Ramūnas Cicėnas
SALĖ
Indrė Patkauskaitė
MILĖ
Valda Bičkutė / Agnė Šataitė
HELĖ
Neringa Būtytė / Ilona Kvietkutė
MOTHER
Jūratė Brogaitė
FATHER
Almantas Šinkūnas
VERONIKA
Ilona Kvietkutė / Agnė Šataitė
OSKARAS
Mantas Vaitiekūnas
FRENCHMAN
Vytautas Rumšas (jaun.) / Jokūbas Bareikis / Balys Latėnas / Tomas Kliukas
AVIATOR STEPONAS
Balys Latėnas / Vytautas Rumšas (jaun.) / Jokūbas Bareikis / Petras Šimonis / Povilas Adomaitis
AVIATOR STASYS
Balys Latėnas / Vytautas Rumšas (jaun.) / Jokūbas Bareikis / Tomas Kliukas / Povilas Adomaitis
LITHUANIANS
Balys Latėnas, Vytautas Rumšas (jaun.), Jokūbas Bareikis, Tomas Kliukas, Neringa Būtytė, Petras Šimonis, Povilas Adomaitis, Ilona Kvietkutė
SOLDIERS
Balys Latėnas, Vytautas Rumšas (jaun.), Jokūbas Bareikis, Tomas Kliukas, Petras Šimonis, Povilas Adomaitis
KING KONG
Vytautas Rumšas (jaun.) / Povilas Šimonis
The story of Madagascar is set in the years between 1912 and 1945. The prototype for Kazimieras Pokštas, the main character, is the famous Lithuanian geopolitician Kazys Pakštas (1893-1960). It would be difficult to find another personality in 20th century Lithuania with so many cultural, geopolitical and social ideas, so many daring projects and visions. A geographer, traveller and public figure, Pakštas was unique in taking direct action to protect Lithuania and Central Europe from various threats, instead of using only rhetorical means. These actions included his attempts to create a Central European Christian Democratic Union, and a “reserve” homeland, the so-called Dausuva, as well the idea of a Baltoscandian confederation. He sought to move Lithuania to Africa, because he anticipated the terrible fate of his land.
Another prototype for the character named Salė is the eminent Lithuanian poetess Salomėja Nėris (1904-1945). Even though today she is considered to be the most outstanding poetess of the early period of independence, she is criticised because of her collaboration with the communists. In fact, Pakštas and Nėris never met. Other prototypes were chosen on the basis of a single criterion: all were great Utopians, idealists, who had huge visionary aims and crazy ideas. And all of them suffered a collapse. Marius Ivaškevičius was curious to investigate what might have happened if these people had met. Another fantastic meeting takes place in Paris, at the Oskaras’ apartment. The prototype of Oskaras is Oscar Milosz (1877-1939), a famous Lithuanian, Polish and French writer, mystic and Lithuanian diplomat in France.
The language of the characters in Madagascar is not contemporary Lithuanian, but something similar to the language which people spoke in the interwar period. Using this special vocabulary, Ivaškevičius creates his own vision of the Lithuanian language.
The performance Madagascar based on the play by famous contemporary Lithuanian playwright Marius Ivaškevičius, has become highly favoured by the audience. Since its opening evening at The State Small Theatre of Vilnius in 2004, the play has been shown almost more than 450 times, the first cast of actors has already been replaced by the younger generation. With this performance The State Small Theatre of Vilnius has toured Poland, Russia, Finland, Austria, and Serbia. Ivaškevičius admits that he himself is surprised at the success of Madagascar abroad,
“The topic and context of the play are highly Lithuanian. Having witnessed how foreign audiences react to the performance we were really surprised; sometimes the reaction is greater and people laugh more than in Lithuania. Such are the paradoxes of creation. It has turned out that at about the same time all countries had a figure similar to our Kazimieras Pokštas, who was also making similar plans.”
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Ramunė Balevičiūtė, theatre critic
“The stage director was seeking for some kind of perspective, as for a window to the world of universal sensations, in almost every episode of the play. Employing ingenuity insights and observations of everyday life, Rimas Tuminas was also trying to extract what he calls “a voice of an epoch”. During the rehearsals of Madagascar Rimas Tuminas developed an original philosophy of the sound: according to the words of Tuminas, everything in our lives and in the world we live in passes, disappears, and becomes forgotten; only the sound remains eternal. “Material” sounds discovered by the composer Faustas Latėnas are also of great importance in the play: such are the sounds of the sea which penetrate to the church interrupting a sermon preached by Pakštas, a shrill singing of countrywomen, silent tings of bells, or a lyric folk song which dissipates the comic of situations, and finally these moments of silence, in which the Past meets the Present. Currently, they are not very abundant in number and appear more like subtle allusions to dramatic destinies of the nation and of the people which will become true in the second part of Madagascar.”
Additional information:
Tobacco products are used on stage during the performance.
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Festivals, tours, awards:
2005 – International Theatre Festival Kontakt’05 in Toruń (Poland) – 2nd prize; prize for the best directing to Rimas Tuminas, prize for the best acting to – Gintarė Latvėnaitė.
2005 – 21st Lithuanian professional theatre festival Acting for farmers in Rokiškis; prize for the best acting to Gintarė Latvėnaitė, special prize for the most promising actor to Ramūnas Cicėnas.
2005 – Tour in Wien (Austria).
2005 – International Baltic Contemporary Drama Festival SKATS in Riga (Latvia).
2005 – Festival „Urbi et Orbi“ in Bruxelles (Belgium).
2006 – Tour at V. Mayakovsky theatre in Moscow (Russia).
2006 – Lithuanian days in Poland.
2007 – 52nd International Theatre Festival Sterijino Pozorje (Serbia); prize for the best performance in the frames of the foreign programme.
2008 – 3rd International Youth Theatre Forum M. art Kontakt in Mogilev (Belarus).
2008 – Tour in Moscow (Russia).
2008 – Polish Contemporary Plays Festival R@PORT in Gdynia (Poland).
2008 – 9th International Theatre Festival Raduga in St Petersburg (Russia); prize for the best performance.
2008 – 2nd International Art Festival in Mažeikiai (Lithuania).
2008 – International Theatre Festival Akademya in Omsk (Russia).
2011 – Y. Vakhtangov theatre (Rusija), part of the program of the 90th anniversary.
2015 – International Tumanishvili Theatre Festival GIFT (Georgia).
2016 – Nanluoguxiang Theatre Festival (Honkong).
2021 – VIA CARPATIA in Olsztyn (Poland).
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