Jonas Vaitkus

Jonas Vaitkus was born in the Armonai Village (Raseiniai distr.), on May 20, 1944. In 1974, he graduated from Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. In 1974-1975, he worked as a chief director at the Šiauliai Drama Theatre. From 1975 to 1978, Jonas Vaitkus was employed as a director at the Kaunas Drama Theatre. During 1978-1980, the artist studied at the High Courses for Directors in Moscow. In 1980-1988, Jonas Vaitkus was the chief director of the Kaunas Drama Theatre. The artist has also been employed as a director of the Lithuanian State Academic Drama Theatre since 1988 and was appointed its chief director during 1990-1994. Jonas Vaitkus was granted the title of a Professor in 2006 and has been giving lectures at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre since 1988. Vaitkus has been working as a pedagogue in the USA, Norway and Denmark since 1991. In 2008-2018, he was the head of the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre. Jonas Vaitkus has produced performances both in Lithuania as well as abroad and has directed films. In 2003, he was granted the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Award. In 2007, the director was awarded the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (Officer's Cross). His earlier works include, inter alia: Pilgrim of Dreams (Lith.: Svajonių piligrimas) by Eugenijus Ignatavičius and Jonas Vaitkus, Ubu the King (French: Ubu Roi) byAlfred Jarry, The Last Ones (Russian: Последние) by Maksim Gorky, Red and Brown (Bulgarian: Червено и кафяво) by Ivan Radoev, Blue horses on Red Grass (Russian: Синие кони на красной траве) by Mikhail Shatrov, Caligula by Albert Camus, Thrush, the Green Bird (Lith.: Strazdas - žalias paukštis) by Bronius Kutavičius and Sigitas Geda, Richard II by William Shakespeare, Golgotha (Russian: Плаха) by Chinghiz Aitmatov, Ghetto by Joshua Sobol, All Souls' Day (Polish: Dziady) by Adam Mickiewicz, A Doll's House (Norwegian: Et dukkehjem) by Henrik Ibsen, A Dream Play (Swedish: Ett drömspel) by August Strindberg, The Village of Stepanchikovo (Russian: Село Степанчиково) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

 

RECENT THEATRE WORKS:

2001 The Threepenny Opera (German: Die Dreigroschenoper) by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill (Klaipėda Musical Theatre)

2001 Love, Jazz, and the Devil (Lith.: Meilė, džiazas ir velnias) (Kaunas State Academic Drama Theatre)

2001 The Seagull (Russian: Чайка) by Anton Chekhov (Kaunas State Academic Drama Theatre)

2002 The Master and Margarita (Russian: Мастер и Маргарита) by Mikhail Bulgakov (Baltijskij Dom, Saint Petersburg)

2002 The Very Beginning of the Beginning (Lith.: Pati pradžios pradžia) by Jonas Mekas (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2002 Gagarin Way by Gregory Burke (Theatre and Cinema Information and Education Centre)

2003 Helver’s Night (Polish: Helverova noc) by Ingmar Villqist (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2003 The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (Kaunas State Academic Drama Theatre)

2003 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2003 Fire and Faith (Lith.: Ugnis ir tikėjimas) by Bronius Kutavičius (Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre)

2004 Sakura in the Wind (Lith.: Sakura vėtroje) by Aivaras Mockus (joint Japanese-Lithuanian project, Theatre Dora, Tokyo, Japan)

2004 Mary Stuart (German: Maria Stuart) by Friedrich Schiller (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2005 Demons. Devils. Demoniacs. Dickens (Lith.: Demonai. Nelabieji. Apsėstieji. Kipšai) based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2006 Mary Stuart (German: Maria Stuart) by Friedrich Schiller (Kaliningrad Regional Drama Theatre)

2006 The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh (State Youth Theatre)

2006 Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Brian Clark (State Small Theatre of Vilnius)

2007 All My Sons by Arthur Miller (Kaunas State Drama Theatre)

2007 Ivona, Princess of Burgundia (Polish: Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda) by Witold Gombrowicz (State Youth Theatre)

2007 L'Orfeo based on the opera by Claudio Monteverdi (Klaipėda State Music Theatre)

2007 Blackbird by David Harrower (Audronis Liuga Production)

2008 Pilgrim of Dreams (Lith.: Svajonių piligrimas) by Eugenijus Ignatavičius, Jonas Vaitkus (State Small Theatre of Vilnius)

2008 Patriots (Lith.: Patriotai) by Petras Vaičiūnas (State Youth Theatre)

2009 Blackbird by David Harrower (joint project of Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre, Saint Petersburg Theatre Festival Baltijskij Dom and Audronis Liuga Production)

2009 Sky Scraper of the World (Lith.: Pasaulio dangoraižis) by Algirdas Martinaitis

2009 Woe from Wit (Russian: Горе от ума) by Aleksander Griboyedov (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2009 Veronika by Giedrius Kuprevičius (Klaipėda State Musical Theatre)

2010 The Unexpected Man (French: L’homme du hasard) by Yasmina Reza (Theatre Mens Publica)

2010 Jasek (Polish: Jasiek) by Andrzej Maleszka (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2010 Barbora and Žygimantas (Lith.: Barbora ir Žygimantas) based on the texts by Jonas Grinius (State Youth Theatre)

2010 Xerxes (Original Italian title: Serse) by Georg Friedrich Händel

2010 The Girl Feared by God (Lith.: Mergaitė, kurios bijojo Dievas) by Gintaras Grajauskas (Klaipėda Drama Theatre)

2011 The Seagull (Russian: Чайка) by Anton Chekhov (Theatre Baltijskij Dom, Saint Petersburg, Russia)

2011 He Who Gets Slapped (Russian: Тот, кто получает пощёчины) by Leonid Andreyev (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2011 The Fundamentalist (Finnish: Fundemantelisti) by Juha Jokela (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2011 An Enemy of the People (original Norwegian title: En folkefiende) by Henrik Ibsen (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2012 Christmas at the Ivanov’s (Russian: Ёлка у Ивановых) by Alexander Vvedensky (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2012 Heart in Vilnius (Lith.: Širdis Vilniuje) by Arvydas Juozaitis (with Albertas Vidžiūnas, State Youth Theatre)

2012 All's Good Between Us (Polish: Między nami dobrze jest) based on the work by Dorota Masłowska (Klaipėda Drama Theatre)

2012 The Seven Beauties (Persian: هفت پیکر) based on the work by Nizami Ganjavi (Azerbaijan State Russian Samed Vurgun Drama Theatre)

2013 Pagans (Ukrainian: Язичники) based on the work by Anna Yablonskaya (Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania)

2013 The Undergrowth (Lith.: Atžalynas) based on the work by Kazys Binkis (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2013 Eugene Onegin (Russian: Евгений Онегин) based on the work by Alexander Pushkin (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2014 Mute (Lith.: Nebylys) based on the work by Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas (Šiauliai Drama Theatre)

2014 King Lear based on the work by William Shakespeare (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2014 Pagans (Ukrainian: Язичники) based on the work by Anna Yablonskaya (Gorky State Academic Russian Drama Theatre, Astana, Kazakhstan)

2014 Curse of Korkyt (Kazakh: Қорқыттың көрі) based on the work by Iran-Gaiyp (Kazakh State Academic Drama Theater named after M.O. Auezov, Almaty)

2015 The Seven Beauties (Persian: هفت پیکر) based on the work by Nizami Ganjavi (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2016 Seven Fridays of Saul the Pharisee (Russian: Семь пятниц фарисея Савла) based on the work by Alexander Andreyev (Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre)

2016 The Tidings Brought to Mary (French: L'Annonce faite à Marie) based on the work by Paul Claudel (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre)

2016 Fiorenza based on the work by Thomas Mann (National Kaunas Drama Theatre)

2017 An Enemy of the People (Doctor Stockmann) (Lith.: Visuomenės priešas (Daktaras Stokmanas)) based on the work by Henrik Ibsen (Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama, Kiev, Ukraine)

2018 What is Against Us (Lith.: Kas prieš mus) based on the work by Gintaras Grajauskas (Klaipėda Drama Theatre)