The Double
National Kaunas Drama Theatre | 2025
In “The Double”, the video work unfolded on two levels. One part consisted of revisiting my own personal videography archive, spanning from 2011 onward – documenting fragments of daily life, events, and cities I’ve lived in. This mirrored the main character’s obsession with capturing and archiving his surroundings, creating a personal visual timeline that paralleled the play’s psychological and narrative layers.
The second part of the projections came from a live feed on stage, initially focused on the “evidence” of a crime: close-ups of a miniature model of the apartment we see on stage. As the investigation progresses, the camera’s gaze gradually shifts – first to the couple on stage, and ultimately to the investigator herself, blurring the boundary between observer and participant. This real-time video component created a crime show aesthetic, demanding close collaboration with both the technical and artistic teams. It was a challenging but deeply rewarding process.
Creative Team:
Director – Augustas Gornatkevičius
Set and costume designer – Simona Davlidovičiūtė
Composer – Jokūbas Tulaba
Video artist – Kristijonas Dirsė
Lighting artist – Vladimiras Šerstabojevas
Translator – Ignas Beitsas
Intimacy coordinator – Irma Pužauskaitė
Cast:
He – Pijus Narijauskas, Robertas Petraitis
She – Saulė Gotbergė
N2 – Ugnė Žirgulė
The Narrator – Inga Mikutavičiūtė
“Dirsė’s projections create a landscape-like atmosphere throughout the performance, turning the folds of white bedsheets into urbanized terrain. But in the narcissus mise-en-scène, the video is no longer a supplement to the action – it becomes the action itself, in which the actors can simply sit still.”
Dovilė Zavedskaitė, Literatūra ir Menas
“Scenographer S. Davlidovičiūtė and video artist Kristijonas Dirsė contributed to a sustainable stage design – using projections and repurposed set pieces, furniture, and costumes that effectively evoke the fashion and mood of the depicted era. The sustainability of the scenography aligns perfectly with Celeste and Noah’s ecological values, while the use of video material resonates with Noah’s passion for videography.”
Austė Žiogaitė, Kauno Diena