Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre is coming to Šiauliai to present the critically acclaimed play "The Iranian Conference" by director Aleksandr Shpilevoy at the State Šiauliai Drama Theatre!

Ivan Vyrypaev's The Iranian Conference is a two-part play

One of Ivan Vyrypaev's newest plays, The Iranian Conference, is set at a scientific conference at the University of Copenhagen. The speakers at the conference are influential academics, public figures and members of the clergy. At first glance, the play seems to be a social or even political debate between the characters about democracy, liberal and conservative views, human rights and freedoms, and the geopolitical situation in today's global world. But as soon as the action gets underway, it becomes clear that this story is not about politics at all, but about the personal experiences of the characters, their wounds and their desires.

Author of the play, Ivan Vyrypayev, says of his play:

"I see that many progressive people on the planet today, on whom major societal changes are dependent, are increasingly asking themselves the question: is there a solution for everyone in the current critical global situation? And what is this emergency? What is the problem?

The problem is that we human beings have not learned to live on this planet with each other. The 21st century is just around the corner, and we are still dividing territories, dividing each other by blood, nationality and race, and believing that the spiritual path we accept is the only right one. How to live in such a world? The global world has become small. We are all like inhabitants of one communal apartment. We are at war and we are suffering from that war.

Today, the theme of the meaning of life has begun to resonate in so-called progressive circles (academics, politicians, businessmen, artists). We are all gradually coming to the conclusion that, in order to make a difference in our world, we need to understand what is the meaning of our life and what is the meaning of life in general. And while these questions used to be esoteric, religious and philosophical, today they are increasingly being asked in major business forums, political debates and scientific conferences.

What is the meaning of life? And is there any meaning to life beyond the question itself? The most important thing is becoming apparent: even if the meaning of life is a mystery to many people, it is still a question that is becoming very acute and important to a growing number of people on our planet. There is no point in running our own businesses, in political reform and in pursuing the arts if we do not have a firm grasp of why we are doing it and where we are going. So for me personally, this play is about Knowing.

But I would like everyone to discover something of their own."

Premiere - October 2, 3, 2020

Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre Laboratory