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On April 26 and 27, as well as May 18, 2025, the premiere of the comedy “Awaken Your Inner Goddess” (directed by Gildas Aleksa) will take place at the Kaunas City Chamber Theatre. The first performance in Vilnius will be held on May 20 at the Arts Printing House.

The play presents four people who feel out of place in their lives. Burnt out from attempts at self-realization and trapped in unrealistic frameworks of a “healthy lifestyle” (eight hours for sleep, eight for themselves, eight for work), the characters arrive at a team-building retreat in a spiritual development camp, where they become entangled in a series of absurd events.

The return of director Gildas Aleksa to Kaunas City Chamber Theatre

Gildas Aleksa is a director of the younger generation whose portfolio includes around 20 productions, many of which (“The Nature of Wind,” “Candide, or the Death of Optimism,” “The Sweater,” etc.) have been staged at the Kaunas City Chamber Theatre. He has received the Fortūna statuette three times and has also been awarded at the Lithuanian Theatre Spring festival, as well as recognized as the most memorable artist of Kaunas. The comedy “Awaken Your Inner Goddess” marks the long-awaited return of the director to this theatre.

“The comedy ‘Awaken Your Inner Goddess’ is, first and foremost, about how absurd it is that there is demand for quick-fix spirituality camps, and that companies invest money into their employees’ ‘spirituality,’ believing it will increase productivity. This is simply a distorted reality. Yes, if we view employees as people with spiritual needs, give them rest, use team-building methods, communicate needs properly, and avoid exploiting those who are more dedicated, then productivity and internal culture should improve. But we live in a time and place where we know nothing about cultural appropriation—people go on vacation to India and come back as gurus, therapists are replaced by coaches, and talkative toxic individuals loudly claim, ‘I can be a psychologist myself,’” the director comments on the relevance of the work.

Created by emerging artists

The characters of “Awaken Your Inner Goddess” are brought to life by actors Roberta Sirgedaitė, Milda Naudžiūnaitė, Gytis Ivanauskas, and Adomas Jasiukėnas. The original play was written by emerging playwright Kristina Marija Kulinič, whose works have already been staged in Lithuania (Teatronas, Artūras Areima Theatre, No Shoes Theatre) as well as at the Latvian National Theatre. This is not her first collaboration with director Gildas Aleksa—they previously created “Sodra, Mon Amour” (Teatronas) in 2021.

The music for the performance was composed by Jokūbas Tulaba, a long-time collaborator of the director. Lighting design was created by Tomas Zinkus, while scenography and costumes were designed by Kotryna K. Rupainytė.

“When I began thinking about scenography, everything naturally revolved around the circle, which is why the performance features many circular forms. For me, the circle symbolizes both unity and perfection, something often encountered in spiritual practices—from circle dances to ritual sharing. Another idea I want to express through the circle is the cyclical nature of life: day after day, an endless routine, like a wheel we keep running in without stopping. The circle combines the desire for perfection and spirituality with the metaphor of everyday routine. Just like the camp participants try to escape daily work for a moment and ‘purchase’ a sense of spirituality and connection,” shares Kotryna K. Rupainytė about the creative process.

The premiere in Kaunas will take place on April 26, 27, and May 18 (at the Kaunas City Chamber Theatre), and in Vilnius on May 20 (at the Arts Printing House). The production is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Tickets are distributed by the Kaunas City Chamber Theatre.

Photos by Donatas Ališauskas.