Director and actor Dainius Kazlauskas: happy is the one who is not in debt to anyone

Only a week is left until the opening of “Lord of war” (lit. “Karo dievas”) - yet another performance directed by the talented Lithuanian actor and director Dainius Kazlauskas. This performance is his second baby based on a play by Yasmina Reza, the playwright of the young French generation. The first one, telling about a friendship of three friends, was “Art” (lit. “Menas”).

While the “Lord of war” team, the actors Giedrius Savickas, Darius Gumauskas, Aurelija Tamulytė and Viktorija Kuodytė, are intensely working and polishing their roles, the director D. Kazlauskas found a couple of free minutes to share his thoughts not only about the play, but also about our society, our man.

Is it easier to create another performance based on a play by the same author?

It is neither easier, nor harder. Every play is unique. It does not matter whether it is by the same author or not. You still treat it like different clay which you are building the performance of.  All of it is unique, because it exists specifically during that period of life, at those specific circumstances. They become unique, thus the solution becomes unique. Unique in the meaning of it being the only and the final. There are very few people who rebuild the same performance.

What did you, as Dainius Kazlauskas, find in Y. Reza's play “Lord of carnage” (the original title of the play)?

It is an unfinished business. Our life is not finished. You can not state you have or have not understood something. Life is a process, at the end of which we die. And then, when you should already understand, you do not understand anything, because you have already died. That is where it ends. Any play you have read, any item you have purchased, any adventure, event you have experienced is neither more, nor less important than any other. Every little thing has some sort of impact on us, but what it is I cannot say right now. I guess eventually that impact will show itself in the course of life. We do not understand how things change in our subconscious. We cannot get hold of it, even if something is happening. Thus intuition, presentiment and things like that appear.

There is a fight of human relationships happening in your newest production, a fight of human personalities; why are people fighting?

All wars are based on an idea. We can call that idea whatever we want – ideology, attitude, objectives. The latter are always very personal, and advantage is always pursued using them. A problem has always been and always be there. Therefore it is very difficult to stay neutral, I am not even sure if there are people like that at all. Every day our different attitudes and objectives collide. Thus, an eternal war is happening. We can pretend, we can wear masks, but it does not change the essence.  

For example, Angelina Jolie, who is taking care of and raising kids from the third world countries. We all understand how much, what and why is done. But we all perceive that in silence. And now go and accept the condition that she is actually doing this only of pure goodwill.  You will see that it is hard for you to accept it. Why? Because we still do not realize that benefit is the engine of everything, related to the basic instinct of survival. It used to be simpler – you shoot it and you take it, meanwhile now we have courts and other institutions, thus different ways to gain advantage appear.

Probably those people who are hiding their inner selves, real faces behind the masks, do not feel happy; so what person is happy, and how does one become so?

Happy is he who is not in debt to anyone for anything. What is debt? I do not mean money here. Person not in debt is free, he is free to choose. According to religion, free choice is the gift of God. However, being completely free is not easy, but I still wish that to everyone. And to myself.

When you are free, everything becomes easier – you do not have to decide for anyone else, you do not have to suffer for anyone else. Everyone chooses their own way, and my duty when staging a performance or playing a role is not teaching or healing. One has to grub out their own baobabs, and he who grubs out his baobabs, attracts others who grub out their baobabs. Communicating with congenial people is easier than those who are negligent. This is everybody's responsibility for their own, not someone else's life. Thus, it is not my responsibility to fix or sort the viewers' lives. I simply want to provide an opportunity for the viewer to take their own responsibility. This is the reason why I decided not to state anything in “Lord of war”. I will let the viewer draw their conclusions.

The opening of the performance “Lord of war” created by Idioteatras and theatrical guide teatrai.lt already on 16th February in MINI theatre and concert call at Vilnius Siemens Arena (entrance through  the BMW club). Tickets distributed by Tiketa.