Representation of the Soviet regime in contemporary Lithuanian theatre: towards critical memory

Abstract

There are a number of reasons why theatre is important not only as artistic expression but also as the medium of historical memory. In most cases, however, dramatic and theatrical devices (attractive and variform as they may be) appear as merely a decoration (“live experience”, “muscle memory” etc.) of an already existing historiographical discourses. Referring to the stage productions of Lithuanian theatre that reconstruct and represent the Soviet regime during the decades of independence (1990-2012), the article addresses the question if and how theatre can be turned into a medium of critical memory, that does not only add some entertaining flavours to the dominant historical knowledge but critically confronts ideological assumptions of the historical narratives and examines the working of the very mnemonic mechanisms. The attitude of critical memory is particularly relevant when speaking of the recent traumatic events of the Soviet occupation, a historical period still important in defining the identity of contemporary Lithuanian society. There are a number of examples in contemporary Lithuanian theatre that can be described as symptoms of the crisis of histori-cal memory of the Soviet period. Firstly, the performances and theatrical events (mostly intended for the general public and tourists) that provide the Soviet past with entertaining and exotic appearance, representing it as a special kind of pleasure-ground, a style, and a commercial attraction. Secondly, the productions that continue to represent the historical memory of the Soviet past from the colonial and totalitarian position as it was done during the Soviet period when the real historical trauma could not be represented directly. [...]