OKT

Inspired by Vidmantė Jasukaitytė's novel "Marija Egiptietė"

direction, choreography, scenography, and costumes - Eglė Jackaitė, Oskaras Koršunovas

authors of the stage adaptation - Eglė Jackaitė, Dali Rust, Oskaras Koršunovas

lighting - Vilius Vilutis

music - Gintaras Sodeika

Starring - Eglė Jackaitė

Premiere - November 24, 25, 2024

Description:

The story of Mary of Egypt, shrouded in rumors and mysticism, is the starting point for the creators of this play. This woman, forced to sell her body, lived in 4th-century Alexandria and traveled to Jerusalem with pilgrims. However, the gates to the Holy Sepulchre were closed to her. Afterward, she wandered the desert for many years, seeking repentance and peace.

What would the story of a 21st-century Mary of Egypt look like, wandering through an urbanized "desert" and seeking liberation? Has our society, having become more civilized, seen a decrease in violence? Has it become more empathetic? More forgiving? More tolerant? Ultimately, less patriarchal?

Today, Mary of Egypt could be any woman - a mother, daughter, sister, wife, navigating the sharp line between the saintly and the sinful every day.

In this premiere, OKT/Vilnius City Theatre invites you to enter yet another unexplored and, this time, extremely uncomfortable, yet particularly important X territory. "The Saint" is a territory of violence where a woman, having endured violence and dependency her whole life, finds the strength to emerge from her crisis and choose a radically different direction in life. This is a play about a woman's survival in a radical patriarchal society, full of violence against women.