Reception of Documentary Theatre in Lithuania and the Societal Change

Abstract

The article analyses three performances staged by the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre in 2017–2018: Žalia pievelė (Green Meadow) was based on real life stories of the workers of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, Dreamland showed real-life stories of refugees, and Nežinoma žemė. Šalčia (Unknown Land. Šalčia) was documentary research in the town of Šalčininkai. This informal trilogy is one of the first examples of postdramatic documentary theatre in Lithuania. When Rimini Protokoll brought their project Sabenation. Go home & follow the news to Sirenos ‘05 Vilnius international theatre festival, critics were sceptical about the ‘exploitation’ of real people on stage. Twelve years later, reception of new performances shows how much documentary theatre has become acceptable and even insufficiently documentary. What has changed in those twelve years?
According to Pierre Bourdieu, ‘the readability of a work of art for a particular individual varies according to the divergence between the more or less complex and subtle code required by the work, and the competence of the individual, as defined by the degree to which the social code, itself more or less complex and subtle, is mastered’. Reception of the trilogy reflects the transformations both in theatre and in Lithuania’s sociocultural space. Postdramatic theatre (which is precisely what the documentary genre is) has become commonplace in Lithuania, and the new young generation is enthusiastically creating it. Although political theatre is not common in Lithuania, it is a legacy of the older theatre generation, which avoided talking about forbidden topics. The denial of the actor’s body and physicality through acting and character creation was (and remains) an important part of the theatrical tradition, while real people on stage destroy the illusory nature of theatre. Performativity affirms reality, the participation of authentic people and real transformations on stage. Artists are beginning to look for other, non-theatrical spaces – authentic apartments, abandoned factories, real environments – and exploit their unique aspects.
One of the significant changes is related to new trends in various fields of art and media that present real people. In the last decades of the twentieth century, biographical literature and books of conversations with real people became popular around the world. The genres of reporting from hot spots complements the fields of literature and cinema, with film directors creating not only biopics but also films about ‘common people’, analysing real situations with heroes of the everyday. At the turn of the century, reality shows and their ‘heroes from the street’ began to dominate global television ratings. On social media, it is no longer experts in a particular field but influencers and streamers who are important.
It is important to mention that the plays discussed were created by a young generation of artists who grew up in independent Lithuania. This provides evidence of changing values and the gradual acceptance of new rules of functioning in the field of art.