What was the inspiration behind the making of Lovefool?
The idea came very intuitively. I wanted to write an unapologetically funny, honest, and confessional play about both shameful and traumatic things women can go through. I wanted to talk about how awkward, embarrassing, and painful it can be to be alive and how we can overcome challenges if and once we are brave enough to acknowledge them and face them. My main drive is always to write projects I miss seeing on stage or screen, and this play is an ode to that.
Lovefool is a one-woman play written and directed by you. Is this a monodrama? Are you the only performer?
I wrote, directed, and performed in the monodrama called “A Lithualien in the Land of Bananas” which spoke about my childhood in Soviet-occupied Lithuania as well as my move to the “West” (aka Luxembourg). It was an autobiographical piece about what it felt like to grow up in that strange isolated universe, to then move to a whole new world, where bananas were sold all year round, without people having to queue up. It’s a funny and moving play about childhood traumas that can be a side-effect of living under a dictatorship and/or being an immigrant. It premiered at the “Fundamental Monodrama Festival” a few years back, a fantastic festival that unites the best monodramas from all over the world. When they asked me to create a new show, I wanted to do something different and write a one-woman play that might include topics that are personal to me, that matter to me, but that are not autobiographical. This gave me much more freedom to explore broader subjects. As part of a new experience, I wanted to be “backstage” and chose to cast an actor to play the lead character, Grace. I am beyond delighted to have met Kristin Winters, a magnificent human and actor for London, and it has been a pure joy to rehearse this piece with her.
There is so much absurdity and ridiculousness in painful moments.
What’s Kristin Winter’s role and what did collaboration with Liv Morris and Florian Hirsch entail?
Kristin Winters plays Grace, the lead of the play, and Liv Morris and Florian Hirsch (who is the dramaturg at the National Theatre) have been doctors of my text in some way. They helped me edit the text and polish it to make it as I wanted it to be. It was mostly little things, but they made the play much stronger and more complete. I strongly believe in collaboration and learning from the best.
The play touches a lot of strong topics, from emotionally absent fathers to the power of self-awareness. What message are you trying to pass across to the audience, and why?
Although the play touches on complex subjects, it has many hilarious moments. I never want to patronise in my work, which I think can happen easily once you treat heavy issues in a purely heavy manner. There is so much absurdity and ridiculousness in painful moments, and I really wanted to stress them. A work often reflects the creator’s character, and I do have dark humour and a direct way of talking about things in my personal life, which I am sure is mirrored in the play. While writing the play, I dearly hoped to normalise talking about shameful, awkward, and painful events of our lives, from dating life to sex, masturbation, sexual assault, and trauma, and this particular story allowed me to explore all these topics with honesty and wit. If it can help one person feel less alone, less misunderstood, and less defined by what happened to them, then all the hard work has been more than worth it.
If it can help one person feel less alone, less misunderstood, and less defined by what happened to them, then all the hard work has been more than worth it
Is this play in any way linked to your experiences or observations you’ve made from your circle in Luxembourg?
Absolutely. But I am talking about events that have happened to women I know from everywhere. None of the stories in the play are specific to one country, but by being specific in the details of the events, I wanted to make the story relatable and universal.
You’re currently working on two TV series and your first feature film; can you share more details about these?
I am currently in post-production of my short film “Date Night” with my amazing producers from Red Lion in Luxembourg. This is our third film together, and they have become my absolute creative family. We just won an award at the International Film Festival in Tirana for our current short film “And He Said Yes!” about a wedding planning appointment gone wrong, and we're super excited about our first feature film together, that I am writing as we speak. Having such a magical, supportive, and productive collaboration is so rare and precious. We root for each other wholeheartedly, all the time. I am equally developing two TV Series projects with Deal Productions, who I am so happy to have met. They produced my Web Series “Ladybits”, which was our first stepping stone to the world of televisual storytelling. These new projects are a bit shush-shush, but let me say that they are all badass feminist, cringe-y, and heartbreaking all at once.
I feel so blessed to live in a country that celebrates artists in beautiful and supportive ways.
What support did the Ministry of Culture provide in the making of Lovefool?
FOCUNA funded my very first writing residency, where I researched the initial ideas for this play. The Ministry of Culture backed me up after that so I could write the play in its entirety and they supported its production when the show opened and the “Fundamental Monodrama Festival” (with the brilliant Leila Lallali playing the lead) last year. These institutions are so crucial, and I feel so blessed to live in a country that celebrates artists in beautiful and supportive ways.
Lovefool will show at the Théâtre National du Luxembourg (TNL) located at 194 route de Longwy L-1940. The opening is scheduled for Saturday 26 November at 8pm. The play will be also be performed at 5pm on Sunday 27 November and at 8pm on 30 November, and 7 and 8 December.
for tickets and more information.