Šarūnas. Premiere!

 About

Contemporary circus and theater performance based on the drama by V. Krėvė

In a peculiar mix of national epic folklore story, contemporary circus and dance, “Šarūnas” delves into the protagonist’s inner world. It includes lurking critics, a desire to get something more from life than others, and… an acrobatic trampoline.

Based on the epic drama by Vincas Krėvė, the show does not aim to show an angry duke. It is a story about a person lost between generations, their expectations, and existential desires, waiting for something to happen and meantime – imagining surroundings while dancing and moving in all sorts of directions.

Reviews

<…>Given that the director’s work consistently combines irony with sharp, critical analysis of society, this choice of text acts as a clear artistic statement. It sends the message that interdisciplinary works that are able to reflect the present in various forms are becoming increasingly relevant.<…>[Greta Vilnelė, Menų faktūra, 2025]

<…>When watching the play, one gets the impression that the director is looking for certain equivalents of Šarūnas’s inner world in the feelings of a modern person and thus enters the inner labyrinth of the hero (actor – Paulius Markevičius), where a strong desire to squeeze something more out of life arises. Historical drama here becomes a kind of starting point, highlighting/implying precisely the inner features of this fierce ruler.<…>[Ugnė Kačkauskaitė, Menų faktūra, 2025]

<…>The stage world created by Aleksa combines the psychology of theater and the physics of modern circus, becoming a space in which the character’s environment begins to dance and sway with him.<…>[Evelina Kondrotaitė, 7md, 2026]

<…>It does not seek to embellish reality or provide comfort. On the contrary, it forces you to look at life honestly.<…>It seems to me that “Šarūnas” aims to remind us of the important idea that the true path is revealed in constant movement. And sometimes it takes exactly such an encounter with art to understand that none of your leaps are in vain.<…>[Katrė Starikovič, obzor.lt, 2025 m.]

Team

Performers: Paulius Markevičius, Milda Tumė, Milda Jonaitytė, Gabrielle Emily Aidulis, Aino Mäkipää

Director: Gildas Aleksa

Composer: Jokūbas Tulaba

Scenography and costumes: Kotryna Klara Rupainytė

Pertners: La Central del Circ (Barcelona, Spain),

Lithuanian Museum of Ethnography and Arts Printing House (Lithuania)

Premiere at the International contemporary circus festival Cirkuliacija (2025, Lithuania)

50 min | 12+