Other events in Baltic States

Avoiding to become an instrument of political manipulation, Kaunas Chamber Theatre will not perform at a festival Meetings in Russia, informs LETA/ELTA.

Actor and theatre's artistic director Aleksandras Rubinovas says that Kaunas Chamber Theatre has been fruitfully cooperating with the Baltic House International Theatre Festival in Saint Petersburg for 20 years. The theatre performed in twelve different festivals, held joint projects and exchanged tours. The cooperation has never been shadowed by politicking but united solely by art.

Therefore, according to Rubinovas, after receiving an invitation to participate in the festival Meetings in Russia the theatre agreed.

"Never supporting Russia's imperialistic policies or the actions of President Putin, we thought that we must discuss through the medium of theatre, especially as Edvard Radzinsky's play Koba keenly testifies the horrors of Stalinism. We sincerely believed that a civic position could be told on the stage.

Unfortunately, political events have been unfolding very fast and are menacing. We understood that our participation in the festival in Saint Petersburg might be used for evil purposes. We do not wish to become an instrument of political manipulation or an object of ambiguous treatment. We also do not want to split the stance of Lithuania's representatives of culture," noted the artistic director.

Thus, the troupe will not take part in the festival. "One can only regret that when the cannons are heard, the muses are silent", said Rubinovas.