Uncles and Aunts

The production received the Golden Stage Cross award. VMT actress Agnė Šataitė received the Golden Stage Cross (2014) for her leading role as Severiutė in “Uncles and Aunts” and her leading role as Serafima Iljinična in the VMT production “The Suicide” (directed by G. Tuminaitė). Based on the classic work by Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, this production is worthy of the attention of a true connoisseur of literature and theatre.

According to the author himself, “uncles and aunts” refers less to a family relationship than to the social relationship between the landowners who inherited a farm and the “uncles” who stayed there to work and toil. Their position lies somewhere between that of a servant, a hired worker and a family member, but is harder than that of a hired worker, since they work without pay, usually for “food and a meagre garment.” Director Gabrielė Tuminaitė’s adaptation portrays precisely such “uncles” and “aunts”: Mykoliukas, Severiutė and Rapolas. Though set amid the harsh conditions of a serf village, these characters, created with the writer’s masterful hand, are capable of feeling, observing and understanding themselves deeply, and of experiencing the highest moments of existence.

For those weary of the unending stream of information, the production invites audiences to rest their spirits; this, the director says, is one of the virtues of classic works. It does not seek to shock, as contemporary works often do, and becomes a refuge from the surrounding noise and chaos. It is like sitting down on a bench and lingering there until morning by the Lithuanian lagoon, watching a simple but beautiful scene, unhurried and breathing deeply.