READINGS: DRAMA CLASSICS. F. Schiller "Mary Stuart"

Concept authors and directors — Dalia MICHELEVIČIŪTĖ, Vytautas RUMŠAS

Read by actors — Diana ANEVIČIŪTĖ, Povilas BUDRYS, Adrija ČEPAITĖ, Rimantas BAGDZEVIČIUS, Dalia MICHELEVIČIŪTĖ, Ramutis RIMEIKIS, Vytautas RUMŠAS, Arūnas VOZBUTAS, Algirdas DAINAVIČIUS, Šarūnas Rapolas MELIEŠIUS.

Lithuanian National Drama Theatre actors Vytautas Rumšas and Dalia Michelevičiūtė invite audiences to a new cycle of readings, where they will present drama works they have selected, love, and which have not lost their relevance. The readings will take place on weekends in the LNDT Small Hall.

The actors who conceived this cycle say they have missed a close relationship with the audience and multi-layered dramaturgy, so they aim for the actor's voice, emotion, and the viewer's imagination to become the most important elements in the drama classic readings.

"These readings are like eternal, clear spring water that one wants to refresh oneself with in difficult times. We have selected plays that move us personally; we believe they are worthy of the audience's time and attention," says actor Vytautas Rumšas.

Actors from the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre will participate in the readings. The first work to be presented to the audience is the late Friedrich Schiller drama "Mary Stuart". It was not chosen for the reading by accident – twenty years ago, in 2004, Jonas Vaitkus's play based on the work of the same name took place at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre.

"This is a masterpiece of drama classics, revealing in artistic form the influence of an individual's moral choices on history, and the eternal dilemmas of love, power, responsibility, and freedom," says Dalia Michelevičiūtė, who created the role of Mary Stuart in the aforementioned play twenty years ago.

The personality of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, has interested artists and the general public in many respects for many years. She is not only a majestic ruler but also a woman of a turbulent and tragic fate. After spending many years in France, Mary Stuart returns to Scotland, where she falls in love and is convicted. Schiller's drama presents the stage of her imprisonment in England. Officially, she is imprisoned for the murder of her husband Darnley, but in reality, it is because of her claim to the English throne, which was ruled by Queen Elizabeth I. While Mary's cousin Elizabeth hesitates to sign her death warrant, Mary hopes to survive and keeps asking for a meeting. After many requests, Mary finally gets the opportunity to meet her cousin Queen Elizabeth (although this never actually happened), but this meeting ends in a fierce argument...