Kindred

"I feel snow falling inside me, and this is not a metaphor; snow is falling within me, and it feels pleasant—heat subsides, snow cools the fever of my body, freezes wounds, and temporarily suspends the longing for another body."
—Excerpt from Falk Richter’s play Nothing Hurts.

What masks do we wear to find love, and what truth lies beneath them?

"Kindred" is a masquerade of desire, identity, and the search for love, where four young women try on various social and cultural masks. Caught in absurd and complex situations, they navigate between self-expression and societal expectations, embodying the fluidity of love in the modern world. "What happens on stage is not necessarily serious—it can be satirical or provocative. While working on this production, I didn’t want to sympathize with or pity the characters but rather to laugh at the absurd emotional entanglements they get caught up in." —says director Povilas Barzdžius.

This collage-like performance combines the sharp, contemporary dramaturgy of Falk Richter with the timeless themes of William Shakespeare’s plays Twelfth Night, or What You Will and As You Like It. At the same time, it overturns the Shakespearean theater tradition that prohibited women from performing— Kindred features women playing all gender roles, creating a multi-layered narrative.

About the Creator:

Povilas Barzdžius is a young-generation director and actor. Kindred was created at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre as a final acting thesis for Gintaras Varnas' acting course. This production marks the director’s debut at the Kaunas City Chamber Theatre.

About the Authors:

Falk Richter (b. 1969) is a renowned German playwright, theater director, and writer. His plays often explore themes of globalization, capitalism, identity, and complex human relationships in the contemporary world. Known for his ability to weave personal and political elements into deeply engaging narratives, he has become a key figure in avant-garde theater. The performance includes excerpts from Falk Richter’s play Nothing Hurts, translated into Lithuanian by Jūratė Pieslytė.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright and poet, considered one of the greatest writers in English literature. His works delve into universal questions of morality, identity, and social structures—love, ambition, power, and the complexities of human nature. Shakespeare’s mastery of language and profound insight into the human condition have ensured the lasting relevance of his tragedies, comedies, and dramas. The performance includes excerpts from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will, translated by Antanas Miškinis, and As You Like It, translated by Tautvyda Marcinkevičiūtė-Patackienė.