Martin Crimp (born in 1956 in Dartford) is a renowned contemporary British playwright, who belongs to the British in-yer-face drama school. This school is famous for its shocking and satirical plays that explore inconvenient themes and are often played engaging the audience. M. Crimp’s work is distinguished by sharp and sarcastic dialogues, separation from emotions, and a rather dark view of human relationships.
In the Republic of Happiness is a play in three parts interspersed with a few songs. Some critics call it the modern interpretation of Dante’s Divine Comedy (Part I – Hell, Part II – Purgatory, Part III – Heaven), that mocks our contemporary obsession with ourselves.
Director Mantas Jančiauskas recently debuted in the Lithuanian National Drama Theater with a documentary theater play Dreamland. Before that, he organized a reading of In the Republic of Happiness at the Contemporary Dramaturgy Festival Versmė. After the reading, historian and writer Tomas Vaiseta wrote, ‘While listening to the reading of Martin Crimp’s play in the small hall of the theater, you begin to think that the Western world is not only disillusioned with the expectations of a better life and that it is not only the world of the generation of 1968 that is collapsing, but also the myth that has informed our worldview since the eighteenth century – that of mankind’s eternal progress. Realizing this makes you feel impressed and a little scared.'