Radvila Darius, son of Vytautas is a dialogue between live music performed by four instrumentalists and video excerpts from the archives of Lithuanian Radio and Television. 

The period of censorship at Lithuanian Television ended in the last years of the eighties. The air was flooded with issues, suggestions and comments accumulated over the years – everyone had to say their word. In the absence of formal freedom, the viewers soon got involved in the quest for new identity, heroes and vision of a better future. Music commenting the sights of the time immerses the viewers into a tragicomic narrative of problems, which has begun thirty years ago and continues to the present day.

Nostalgia for the past is replaced in the piece by ironic interpretations of sounds of the eighties and nineties, while the questions formed by absurd repetitions and sentimental inclusions continually arise in a collage atmosphere: does that all represent the quest for “Lithuanian” character, or is it a mere routine of human being and everyday life? 

The piece features video materials from the archives of Lithuanian Television: fragments of TV shows ‘Veidrodis’ (Mirror), ‘Akistata’ (Tete-a-tete), ‘Vilnius ir vilniečiai’ (Vilnius and Vilniusites) and ‘Sekmadienio rytą’ (On a Sunday Morning) from the period of 1989–1991.

creative teamKarolis Kaupinis, Birutė Kapustinskaitė, Arnas Mikalkėnas, Kristupas Gikas, Kazimieras Jušinskas, Simonas Kaupinis, Goda Palekaitė, Julius Kuršis, Ervinas Gresevičius, Ignas Juzokas
producer Operomanija
partnersLithuanian National Radio and Television, Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association
supported by Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius City Municipality
premiere september 2020

translated by Jacopo Rocca e Lucia Venanti under the supervision of Prof. Adele D’Arcangelo, Università di Bologna – Dipartimento di Interpretazione e Traduzione

duration 60’


Karolis Kaupinis, is a film director and journalist, born in 1987 in Vilnius. Graduated from Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science. Worked as a world news journalist at the Lithuanian Television. Made successful debuts with his short films The Noisemaker (2014) and Watchkeeping (2017) as well as a feature film Nova Lituania (2019), and received a number of awards in Lithuania and abroad.


The performance is part of the Cultura Lituana in Italia 2025–2026 program.
The Cultura Lituana in Italia 2025–2026 program is implemented by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Italian Republic.

Thanks to the Lithuanian Theatre Centre for connecting us with the Lithuanian scene.