White Tales

“White Tales” is a shadow-puppet theatre performance based on fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Choosing this rare form of puppet theatre, director Nijolė Indriūnaitė and scenographer Aušra Bagočiūnaitė Paukštienė created a translucent, luminous performance that revives the traditions of paper cutting in Lithuania and other European nations. For the poetic play, N. Indriūnaitė drew on three of H. C. Andersen’s Christmas tales: “The Little Match Girl,” “The Fir Tree,” and “The Snowman.” In this lyrical shadow performance, the director asks the audience what a celebration is and what it means to us. We each understand celebration in our own way... But how do a lonely little Girl and a felled forest Fir Tree experience it? Theatre critic Audronė Girdzijauskaitė wrote about the performance: “A shadow-theatre performance—a form without firmly established traditions in Lithuania—seemed perfect to me that day in the small hall of ‘Lėlė’: the proportions of the objects, the elegance of the silhouettes, the lighting, the clarity of the language and lyrical tone (sentimentality avoided!), the rhythms of movement and changing images, and the subtle acting style of actors Almira Grybauskaitė and Elvyra Piškinaitė moved me to tears. A performance like this can be shown to everyone, everywhere.” (“A Restless March, or Thoughtless Everyday Life,” *Literatūra ir menas*, 2007-03-16)