If you ask a random passerby, “What do you know about Lewis Carroll?” you’ll most likely hear about a little girl, a white rabbit who’s always late, and a fantastical world. “Alice in Wonderland,” originally titled “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground” by the author, is a captivating and inexhaustible work. It has been adapted into numerous genres, such as musicals, contemporary operas, ballets, films, and plays. Behind these adaptations lies a myth, an author, and a story that go far beyond the mere narrative of a child’s dream. L. Carroll, a professor of logic at Oxford, created a world where nonsense and childhood intertwine, posing the question: what of Lewis remains in Alice?
The Klaipėda Youth Theater’s production, directed by Frenchman Didier Girauldon, *TO BE ALICE*, goes beyond a mere portrayal of the now-classic fairy tale. It seeks to explore this duality together with the audience—the dialogue between the author and his work, between reality and imagination.
What is captivating about Lewis Carroll’s work is his ability to reflect the dreamlike nature of existence, which echoes Shakespeare’s famous phrase: “the stuff that dreams are made of.” In this work, there is a subtle distance between words and the multitude of meanings they can take on—meanings that can be ascribed to them, much like a mask. This interplay of words and their meanings reveals our most intimate truths, which, like reflections in a mirror, can sometimes be cruel but are always magnificent. It is a profound questioning of our very essence: “to be or not to be” in the presence of others.
*Alice in Wonderland*, *Through the Looking-Glass*, *The Hunting of the Snark*, excerpts from the author’s letters, as well as poetic, philosophical, and theatrical texts: these are just some of the sources being explored, where each actor becomes a storyteller, a character, a singer, a musician, and a puppeteer, immersing themselves in the story and bringing it to life. Every scene, every character, every spoken word opens a door to a world of secrets and magic. In this joyful chaos, this ever-shifting treasure trove of wonders, the performers—like artists in their studios—will embrace the challenges of Alice’s dream-infused universe and its constant metamorphoses.
Director Didier Girauldon is a theater and opera director, actor, producer, and educator who and has been involved in international projects for more than two decades in France, England, the United States, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland, and Canada. As a multidisciplinary artist, he explores collective creation, focusing primarily on the dynamics of movement, text, and rhythm.
Tobacco products are used during the performance!
Director: Didier Girauldon
Set Designer: Renata Valčik
Composer: Nijolė Sinkevičiūtė
Lighting Designer: Julius Kuršys
Cast: Ieva Pakštytė, Donatas Stakėnas, Simonas Lunevičius, Asta Zacharovaitė, Elzbieta Girkantaitė, Rugilė Latvėnaitė, Vaiva Kvedaravičiūtė
Assistant Director: Viktorija Valskytė
