White Tales

“White Tales” is a shadow theatre performance based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Choosing this rare form of puppet theatre, director Nijolė Indriūnaitė and artist Aušra Bagočiūnaitė Paukštienė created a transparent, luminous performance that revives the traditions of paper-cutting among Lithuanian and other European peoples. For the poetic piece, 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 play, 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 strong 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 was avoided!), the rhythms of movement and changes of image, and the subtle acting style of actors Almira Grybauskaitė and Elvyra Piškinaitė moved me to tears. This is a performance that can be shown to everyone, everywhere.” (“A Restless March, or Unthinking Everyday Life,” “Literatūra ir menas,” 2007-03-16)