Paper Swans: A Q&A with Vyte Garriga

KD: Paper Swans draws on your own lived experience and explores the themes of oppression, freedom of speech, self-discovery and what it means to pursue dreams that one is not allowed to have. The play is described as 'Groundhog Day meets Waiting for Godot' - Samuel Beckett's work has been known to speak to people in times of crisis and staged in highly unorthodox places, including storm-devastated neighbourhoods in New Orleans and war-torn Bosnia. What do you think works best about using absurdist theatre to translate human existence, particularly in the context of a catastrophic or life-altering experience? How has it influenced your work?

VG: I am a big fan of the Theatre of the Absurd. I find it extremely liberating and human. I believe that not being tied to a specific date, event, movement elevates the experience to a broader context and allows us to attempt to answer the question of what it is to be human, so everyone can relate to it.

Also, I grew up in a post-Soviet Lithuania, where symbolism, metaphors and ambiguity were deeply rooted in our culture simply because we could not tell the truth without being punished, so the Theatre of the Absurd feels very much like home.

When writing Paper Swans, whenever I encountered a 'writer's block' or got tangled in my own writing, I was constantly going back to the genre and what it requires of the play: repetition, simplicity and humour, which also improved my writing and editing skills a lot.

KD: Repetition and visual symbolism are popular tropes in this style of work. For those new to theatre of the absurd and metaphor-driven surreal storytelling - how do you recommend they approach this performance and what should they expect in terms of how the narrative and characters are presented?

VG: Paper Swans does not follow a linear narrative. And yet, it takes you on a very emotional journey but you need to let go of control. So, first and foremost, I always tell everyone to try to relax and not try to make sense of it (even though our brain is constantly making connections out of everything). The play is not trying to make you feel like you don't understand- the opposite, it invites you to allow your interpretations to emerge.

I always describe it as a dream or a Surrealist painting: yes, I put the words on the paper and now perform them for the audience but I am not forcing a message or a reading onto them; quite the opposite, I am more interested to hear their thoughts and feelings- all of which are correct.

KD: What do you hope the audience will take away from this show?

VG: It might be a spoiler alert but they are invited to take a paper swan from the set home as a reminder that they've been on this Surreal journey. Not everything has to have a reason as long as you stay true to yourself.

KD: What has it been like collaborating with Flabbergast Theatre?

VG: The answer is simple- without Flabbergast Paper Swans wouldn't have happened. I've written the play and showed it to people for some feedback. Simon Gleave (one of the associate artists of Flabbergast) was one of them and, after falling in love with the play, he offered to direct it if the opportunity ever arose. And I thought that was it. But then Henry (the artistic director of Flabbergast) encouraged me to do it. I was too scared to start producing a play on my own but he promised that Flabbergast would stand by my side and guide me through it. And the next moment I know we're performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, then transferring to Soho Theatre in London and now touring the UK. So collaborating with Flabbergast is like a wildest dream coming true.