Inspired by the ideas of ethnologist and archaeologist Marija Gimbutienė, the musical object theater performance "Archaeology of Goddesses" will immerse the audience in a musical dream, in which the goddesses and beings of the ancient Baltic world will emerge from the depths of prehistoric times one after another into the spotlight - Žemyna, Austėja, Laima, Veliona, Giltinė, Vėlijūtė. Over the centuries, their names have become overgrown with myths, songs, and festive rituals, the artistic and musical interpretation of which the Table Theater invites you to "dream up". The performance is nominated for the Golden Stage Cross.
It will be a one-calendar-year journey through the imagined world of the ancient Baltics from the summer solstice to the winter solstice. It will begin with the Christmas festival of the Nine-Horned Deer, dedicated to welcoming the returning Sun. As the Sun rises higher and higher, the time of the goddess Žemyna comes - without her powers of fertility, no grain, no grass sprouts. 
The bird goddess Gervelė, one of the first to return in spring, awakens the earth, protects the sowing and unites hearts, inspiring the power of love to start life, and the bee goddess Austėja, ruling in summer, continues to protect and multiply the family, encourages friendship and sharing of what the bees bring or the goddess Žemyna grows. The cycle of a person's life is started by the goddess Laima, who determines his fate, accompanying him throughout his life and finally giving way to her sister Giltine, who cuts the thread of life and transfers the person to the care of Veliona-Vėlijūtė. She transfers a new ghost across the river to the world of ghosts on the other bank. The distant and at the same time nearby - in the middle of the fields, under the world tree called grūšele, at the top of which the Sun, the Moon and all the stars shine, and from them sparkle sparks of new lives. Thus, the circle of nature and life revolves without stopping: from every end comes a beginning, a new cycle of nature and life.
The bird goddess Gervelė, one of the first to return in spring, awakens the earth, protects the sowing and unites hearts, inspiring the power of love to start life, and the bee goddess Austėja, ruling in summer, continues to protect and multiply the family, encourages friendship and sharing of what the bees bring or the goddess Žemyna grows. The cycle of a person's life is started by the goddess Laima, who determines his fate, accompanying him throughout his life and finally giving way to her sister Giltine, who cuts the thread of life and transfers the person to the care of Veliona-Vėlijūtė. She transfers a new ghost across the river to the world of ghosts on the other bank. The distant and at the same time nearby - in the middle of the fields, under the world tree called grūšele, at the top of which the Sun, the Moon and all the stars shine, and from them sparkle sparks of new lives. Thus, the circle of nature and life revolves without stopping: from every end comes a beginning, a new cycle of nature and life.Creative team:
Director, screenwriter, set designer, actress Saulė Degutytė
Co-author of the script, composer, performer Gediminas Žilys
Guest from Lviv (Ukraine), actress and musician Lyudmyla Zborovska
Actresses: Aura Garmutė, Kristina Baranauskaitė
Lighting designer Rimas Molis
For the whole family
The premiere took place on November 10, 2022 at the Alytus City Theatre.
The production of the performance was funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
Duration – 50 minutes.
Photo by Laura Vansevičienė.
Information about ticket purchase will be announced a couple of weeks before the performance.
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