Photo from “Lėlė” theatre archive

Nijolė Indriūnaitė (b. 1952) is a playwright, director and actress at Vilnius Lėlė Theatre. She is currently acting less and focusing instead on writing poetic plays for the puppet theatre. Her creative work is intended for children but is no less interesting for adults because of their philosophical subtexts and existential topics. The author usually chooses to adapt well-known fairy tales, such as Thumbelina, Cinderella, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, and The Snow Queen, which she rewrites in a characterful language rich with theatrical poetry, surprising simile and paradox.  

Indriūnaitė’s Baltos pasakos (White Tales, 2005), based on the works of Hans Christian Andersen, directed by the author herself (shadow theatre), is her most critically acclaimed work. Her collection of plays under the same name was selected as the best and most remarkable children’s book of the year by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in 2018. 

One of her most recent plays, Raudonoji knyga (The Red Book, 2019), is based on the species of endangered birds described in the Lithuanian Red Data Book. In keeping with her characterful style, the Here, the author characteristically analyses the problems of the contemporary world – pollution, people’s alienation from nature as well as individual, eternal topics – ageing, solitude and fear of intimacy. The play was staged by the Polish director Eva Piotrowska at Vilnius Lėlė Theatre.