Director Olga Lapina, who has received two golden stage awards, and Keistuolių theatre actors, through the tales and short stories of Miloš Macourek, open the door to an extremely fragile and sensitive world - the first steps of a child in school experienced in a new and unfamiliar system. Czech writer, author of legendary tales about Boniface's holiday and a hippopotamus that is afraid of vaccinations, M. Macourek testifies in his works that the privilege and fundamental right of the child is his fantasy - a natural creative force. The writer's texts from children's literature are distinguished by unconventional images, playfully absurd story decisions and characters unexpected to the adult eye, which with the performance "The Long Break" move to the stage of Keistuolių theatre.

On stage, the revived works are linked by one theme - arrival to the first grade. What happens to a young person who experiences a 180 degree change of the environment and system where he has lived under until now? The creative team of the performance is looking for the answer to this question using abstract space, aesthetics and searching for childish logic, language and connection of relationships. "The most valuable thing we discovered in M. Macourek creativity is the huge respect for the child's inner world. The performance reminds the audience that being in the school system cannot destroy the curious, inventive, imaginative nature of a young person - after all, when he comes to school, the child experiences a constant conflict between how he should look and behave and how he imagines himself. With the "The Long Break" we continue M. Macourek tradition and perform a sort of theatrical study of the inner world of the child," director Lapina shared her thoughts.

"The Long Break" is a performance not only for pupils that are discussed on the stage; this is a piece for all the people, parents and teachers around them, revealing an imaginative world that is constantly changing in the eyes and thoughts of the child - completely different from what we see through the eyes of an adult. At the same time, it is a performance for anyone who has at least once experienced what it means to step out of their safe and somewhat fantastic world into a big, otherworldly and frightening school life.

Director - Olga Lapina

On stage - Judita Urnikytė, Jonas Šarkus, Benita Vasauskaitė, Danas Kamarauskas

Voice behind the frame - Vladas Bagdonas 

Set design and costumes - Renata Valčik

Composer - Jokūbas Tulaba

Light artist - Darius Malinauskas

Recommended for children from 7 years of age

Premiere - 20 November 2016

Sponsor of the performance - the Lithuanian Council for Culture