Jo Strømgren. “ROULETTE“

It is a play for teenagers about themes relevant to this age group. “Roulette” has been created by Jo Strømgren, a well-known director and choreographer in Lithuania. His 2018 LNDT production ” The Door” has won four Golden Stage Cross Awards and is still a favorite with the audience.

His new play “Roulette” focuses on the theme of psychotropic substances and their effects, which blur the boundaries between reality and illusion. According to research, almost a fifth of Lithuanian teenagers have tried narcotic substances, and in some cases, they are even distributed and used in schools. It is clear that this is a topic of real relevance for this age group. However, the performance will not declare a single, unquestionable position, but rather will seek to raise the question of what causes drug use, of freedom of choice and responsibility, of the role of reality and the illusory world in the life of a growing personality. Finally, the performance will raise very universal reflections on the times in which we live, and on the social, cultural, and geopolitical aspects of our world today.

“Roulette” is set in a customs office, where one day a small mistake puts the entire customs consignment department in an unenviable situation and sets off a merry-go-round of unexpected events.

“In life, we take calculated risks. The cautious may experience boredom or a certain monotony, while the courageous exceed every limit. Fortunately, each of us can make choices. But what happens when someone else takes the risk for you? The play will talk about drugs and their effects on human consciousness, but more generally it will consider the consequences of taking risky decisions. With this production, together with the creative team, we aim to create a wide field of associations and interpretations, allowing us to look at the narrative of the performance from a variety of perspectives, whether it is the current issues of our everyday life in the West or the geopolitical and socio-economic processes of the wider world,” says Jo Strømgren.