Lithuanian stage director Eimuntas Nekrosius, one of the Europe’s best, brings his Hamlet to Tel Aviv. The much awarded show was first staged in 1997 in his native land and was presented at the most prestigious festivals throughout the world, earning the international recognition to its creator. In Israel, Hamlet will run only twice, July 13 and 14 at Cameri Theater as a part of the international festival, dedicated to Tel Aviv’s centennial. The biography of Nekrosius, published on his theater’s Internet site, is much shorter than the lists of his works and awards and simply informs that the director, who was born in 1952 in a village of Pazobris, has graduated from the Moscow Lunacharsky Art Institute in 1978 and worked for his country’s theaters, before establishing his own “Meno Fortas” theater studio in 1998. The studio’s aim is staging Nekrosius’s works, as well as coordinating international theatre projects and promoting young local artists. Plays staged by Eimuntas Nekrosius range from Lithuanian rock opera to such Russian classics as Pushkin’s Little Tragedies and Gogol’s The Nose and contemporary Children of Rosenthal, as well as Verdi’s Macbeth for Theatro Communale in Florence. His numerous awards include both Lithuanian National Prize, Konstantin Stanislawsky international prize and the much prestigious Italia UBU, to name a few.

 Describing Nekrosius’s directing style in general and that of Hamlet in particular, theater critics speak about utmost emotional intensity of his shows, of visual metaphors, which emerge from use of primal materials as well of fire, ice, water and iron, of the ” recorded soundtrack, which includes everything from Verdi and Brahms to contemporary rock,” but above all accentuates the “poignant use of music … from the sounds his actors elicit from objects onstage… During the duel between Hamlet and Laertes, the futility of violence was captured in the hollow swish of metal rapiers slashing against the wind,” writes Ron Jenkins of the NY Times, who saw Hamlet in Danish historic fortress of Elsinore. And just as he strips a play from everything which is less important in order to pronounce the essential, also in a phone interview, which he gives from his Vilnius theater office, Nekrosius appears to be as laconic and natural.

“Meno Fortas” is Lithuanian for a Fortress of Art. What does it mean? are the company members fighting with somebody, do they protect cultural values from, say, modern barbarians, that is pop-culture, or may be they see themselves as innovators, revolutionaries? “Not at all,” replies the director in a matter of fact tone. “This was a new project and we needed a catchy word for it. Nothing more.” But still, judging from their international success, there probably must be something special about his theater. What is that makes it different from other companies? “We support ourselves financially, as for the rest – I believe that all theater companies in the world are similar, they do the same things.” Nekrosius defines Meno Fortas as “an actor’s theater,” but says there’s no any particular system in his work with actors: “I don’t like systems; a creative approach is what counts. Every day the things are different. This is all about the actor and his mood, sometimes, if it does not work, we simply do not rehearse.” The scenery is important, he adds, “but we try not to overload the stage, leaving the space for actors. The same goes for music – it sounds all the time, helping the actor to create a special mood.”

“Some actors say that you are so tight lipped that they not always understand what exactly do you want from them, is it true?” – “Oh no,” he laughs, “this is an exaggeration, they do understand, otherwise how could they play?” And how does he choose actors for his shows? “In a small country like Lithuania casting is very simple: everybody knows everybody.” But what about his demands to his actors? “First and foremost, the actor has to be a good human being – modest, not carried away nor by success neither by failure. Because there are always ups and downs. But if a person is stable, we can overcome it.” Audrius Mamontovas in the title role is a rock star, a cult figure in Lithuania, but not a professional theater actor. “So what!” exclaims Nekrosius. “He has a powerful presence and his stage experience is much larger than that of any other actor.”

What is his vision of Hamlet? “My vision of the piece is something so negligibly small as compared to the play itself, that there’s nothing to talk about. This is a great text, there’s no need to invent new interpretations and solutions. Everything is already written by Shakespeare, one only needs to look into the words attentively. This is such a powerful literature, the characters are so rich and mysterious, what sort of director one should be for not to love Shakespeare?” His native Lithuania, where he works and creates, is a land of lakes and forests, its rich Medieval past still seems not to be that far from our times, did it make the task of transferring Hamlet to the Lithuanian stage easier? “The Middle Ages are not far from France, they are not far from Germany either. It does not matter in which country you stage Hamlet and what is the company. It always is extremely hard and also a great responsibility.” Nekrosius works not only with Lithuanian, but also with international companies. Does it make any difference? “If you know what are you going to say, it really does not matter. But if you’ve got only a half-truth, the actors will soon feel it and it will never work.”

Hamlet will be presented at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv July 13 and 14.

Translation into Hebrew and Russian is provided. The shows start at 20:30.

For reservations: (03) 6060-960

Lithuanian Rock Star Andrius Mamontovas play  “Hamlet” Photo: Dmitri Matvejev

This article originally appeared in The Jerusalem Post, July 8, 2009