Eimuntas Nekrošius's play "A Hunger Artist"

“A Hunger Artist” is one of the final short stories by Franz Kafka, summarizing his entire body of work, his ethical and aesthetic principles, and his outlook on life. It is a story about an Artist capable of fasting for incredibly long periods, drawing crowds of fascinated spectators. Unfortunately, times and public tastes change, and the incomparable Hunger Artist, despite reaching the pinnacle of his art, dies lonely and forgotten in the wings of a circus. Like all works by the most famous 20th-century Austrian writer, “A Hunger Artist” is a deeply personal, subjective narrative that reveals the most mysterious depths of the artist's own subconscious.

Eimuntas Nekrošius's play is the result of improvisations by the director and actors on the theme of Kafka's short story. The director is extremely demanding of his work, just like Kafka himself, capable of finding and not missing a single meaningful thought, phrase, or word; he immerses the actors into the very essence of the story through evocative, open, theatrical means, allowing the viewer not just to understand, but to feel with their whole soul what the creator experiences during his hours of glory, how he fights for his idea against spectators who do not understand him and an impresario who manipulates his work. As in the short story, Nekrošius's play contains a fair amount of self-irony and subtle, intellectual humor that brings a smile to everyone.

The lead role of the Hunger Artist is played by Viktorija Kuodytė, who has been acting in Nekrošius's plays since 1994 (Laura in “Little Tragedies”, Irina in “Three Sisters”, Ophelia in “Hamlet”, etc.). She is assisted by Vaidas Vilius, Vygandas Vadeiša, and Genadijus Virkovskis, who wittily portray the characters in the artist's environment.

After the premiere performances of the play, the press wrote:

If one had to single out the only theatrical event of the year, it would be Eimuntas Nekrošius's “A Hunger Artist” based on Franz Kafka's novella, performed at “Meno fortas”. Everything is in a whisper, yet it strikes deep: the content weighs you down, while the talent of the creators lifts you up.

You feel crushed because you realize that a person who believed in the meaning of his life is “buried along with his straw”. But you are also happy that you experienced the play.

Such is the impact of this ironic, yet truly tragic work directed by E. Nekrošius and performed by Viktorija Kuodytė.

V. Kuodytė, while reciting the text of F. Kafka's novella, acts out both the drama and the comedy of the Hunger Artist, his strength and his weakness, because neither the author nor the director spared sarcasm in the puzzle of the Hunger Artist's fate.