Holy Frost

Not long after the American Civil War, a group of suspicious characters gets stranded in a remote roadside inn during a blizzard. Among them are Chris Mannix, the new sheriff on his way to town; the criminal Daisy Domergue; John Ruth, known as “The Hangman,” who is taking her to claim the reward; and a company of strangers. Brought together by fate, the travellers carefully conceal their identities, their connections to one another and their true intentions, creating tension and mortal danger for everyone trapped there. Will anyone survive the night of frost?

The joint work by Aleksandras Špilevojus and the rock band Colours of Bubbles at Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre was inspired by the director’s and musicians’ great love of Quentin Tarantino’s work. A. Špilevojus says that while learning about the filmmaker, he discovered that one of his favourite films, The Hateful Eight, nearly fell through when its screenplay was leaked. Filming was called off, but so the work would not go to waste, a reading was held at a theatre in Los Angeles. After receiving very positive reviews, the filmmaker decided to return to making the film.

“After learning about this story, I realised how much I would like to see such a play in a theatre. Since I’m not sure whether Q. Tarantino will ever carry out this idea, I decided to create the play myself,” A. Špilevojus says with a laugh.

“With this material, together with the actors, we discover not America or the 19th century, but ourselves, our time, our country, our problems, the questions that matter to us and our unfulfilled hopes. Holy Frost is no longer a Q. Tarantino film; it is a story about the Human Being that we are creating. Q. Tarantino set himself the task of creating a tragicomic story with not a single positive hero. I don’t mean that all people on Earth are bad, but we have to admit that we are far from holy. So in this play we will see sinful humanity confronting the brightest ideas of humanism, love and freedom. I wonder which will ultimately prevail?” says the director.

Reviews of the play: “Across the Theatre Threshold into the Wild West”; “Aušra Kaminskaitė: Tarantino’s Intrigue Defeats the Magic of Theatre.”

The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. Sponsor: Bisas restaurant.