The Hour of the Lynx
Vilnius Old Theatre | 2024
In the play “The Hour of the Lynx”, video projections function as an extension of the characters’ inner worlds—rather than illustrating the action, they evoke emotional states, memories, and subconscious layers. The visual material consists of two layers: archival documentary footage from psychiatric institutions and slow, dreamlike nature shots filmed in the suburbs of Frankfurt.
A third visual layer was created by filming actor portraits in the studio, later superimposed with the dreamlike exterior footage using double exposure techniques. The projections were mapped onto an irregularly shaped wall—one of the main scenographic elements. Using a 3D model of this wall, I created organic light movements through 3D animation, generating a surreal play of artificial light that blurs the line between physical object and projected image.
Certain projection parameters—brightness, contrast, and deformation—were modulated live in response to the performance’s soundscape: Monika Poderytė’s live music, as well as diegetic sounds from the stage, like stones falling or doors closing.
Creative Team:
Director: Artūras Areima
Set Designer: Oles Makukhin
Costume Designer: Valdemara Jasulaitytė
Video Designer: Kristijonas Dirsė
Lighting Designer: Julius Kuršys
Composer: π (Monika Poderytė)
Instrumentalist: Julius Bučinskas
Stage Manager: Nadežda Pereverzeva
Cast:
Boy – Saulius Ambrozaitis
Lisbeth – Eglė Špokaitė
Priest – Eglė Grigaliūnaitė
Cat, Woman, Knud, Director – Maksim Tuchvatulin
Grandfather, Oscar, Security Guard, Eriksen, Employee – Artūras Aleksejevas
“Kristijonas Dirsė projects a dreamlike, dense visual layer, reflecting not reality but fragments of the characters’ states and memories. The projections sometimes take over the entire back of the stage, becoming an almost separate character, inviting the viewer into subconscious spaces.”
Kristina Steiblytė, “7md”
Director Artūras Areima’s production, based on Per Olov Enquist’s play The Hour of the Lynx (I lodjurets timma), is a soul-moving drama that explores madness, faith as well as human nature and potential, delving into the psyche and subconscious of a person.
The central theme of the performance revolves around the blurred boundaries between sanity and madness, normality and the social fringe. The director contemplates when and how the crucial breaking point occurs, leading a person to surrender to cruelty, crime, or insanity. The intention is clearly to analyse the nature of crime, the origins of mental disorders, to allow the audience to reconsider their convictions and fears, while fostering dialogue.
The Hour of the Lynx tells the story of a young man who finds himself in a psychiatric hospital, in a ward for critically ill patients. The protagonist shares with a young doctor the story of his childhood and complicated life. A research team conducts an experiment with the patients in this ward, allowing some of them to take care for pets. The protagonist learns that the experiment is being terminated, and that his best friend, a cat, will be taken away from him.
What does it mean to grow up in a family without love, and how does this affect the psychological state of a young person? How do the lack of love and rejection manifest as a child grows up? To what extent are we, as a society, responsible for crimes, and can we recognise the critical moment before disaster strikes?
The Hour of the Lynx offers a unique perspective that encourages empathy and understanding. The performance is dreamlike, surreal and mystical in its form. The director aims to bring back the playfulness of dreams and fantasy to the theatre, offering an escape from reality.
The performance “Lynx Hour” explores the experience of suicide, which may be sensitive for some audience members. Suicide is not a solution. The characters and the artistic reality depicted in the play are fictional and do not reflect the current mental health care system or the principles of support for those in distress.
Reviews (in Lithuanian):
https://www.7md.lt/teatras/2025-02-14/Istrukti-ten-kur-svajone-imanoma?
https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/2454421/rezisierius-areima-scenoje-as-medzioju-jausma
https://www.bernardinai.lt/arteja-a-areimos-rezisuojama-lusies-valanda-kodel-zmogus-pasiduoda-ziaurumui-savidestrukcijai/
https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/2470585/premjera-spektakli-lusies-valanda-isgelbejo-katinas
https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000387033/rezisieriaus-areimos-premjeroje-lusies-valanda-tyrimas-apie-zmogaus-psichine-sveikata
https://www.bernardinai.lt/rezisierius-a-areima-didziuojuosi-kad-mes-isliekame-teatro-salis/