The family play Truth Wanted is produced by the Klaipėda Puppet Theatre in collaboration with French puppetry artists, graduates of the Charleville International Puppetry Institute. The play’s director is Vera Rozanova of Russian ancestry, puppet designer – Thais Trulio from Brazil, puppet-maker – Lucas Prieux from France.
The play’s cast is made up of Klaipėda Puppet Theatre’s actors: Aušra Bakanaitė, Monika Mikalauskaitė, Vytautas Kairys, Erika Gaidauskaitė. A key element in the production was a French tree-climbing tutor Gaelle Girardot, who helped the actors master the ‘stage’ and ‘set’ of trees.
“What’s interesting about this tale is the clash of the lie and the truth,” says the plays director Vera Rozanova. “You’re given fake facts, twisted story. This challenges the audience into critical thinking, trying to find the answers to the questions. We live in a constant stream of information that has also a great amount of falsehood, which often makes you doubt the ages-old values. How do you find the truth? What can you rely on? This is what the play’s characters are going to try to answer together with the viewers.”
Truth Wanted is unique not just for its content, unconventional set but also its form. While varying in type, all the puppets are made exclusively from natural materials. Each puppet has a specific function and purpose. In addition, the actors are not just manipulating the puppets; they also give dramatic performances.
Erika Gaidauskaitė and Monika Mikalauskaitė, actors of the show, say, “The creative process was very exciting and full of surprises. We’re used to a small, limited stage and here we got a wide open space, full of distractions. So it was a challenge to interest the audience in ourselves or the puppets. The trees make your voice sound completely different; it becomes tough to say even simple things without shouting. Finally, just before the opening, somebody stole the ropes that are necessary for the actors to climb and attach the puppets, so we had to get new ones really fast.”
