Challenge: Visiting a theatre in Lithuania is oftentimes perceived as complicated activity that requires a special mood. With introduction of its new repertoire Lithuanian National Drama Theatre was aiming to strengthen its image as a modern, relevant and involving institution, and to attract a younger audience.

Nowadays everyone is obsessed with their physical health – from healthy eating to running marathons, usually neglecting their inner world. That’s why we decided to jump aboard the hype train with a training offer too. But our training is a little bit different – it’s the training for soul.

AT first a street in which Lithuanian National Drama Theatre is situated, is often closed due to various sporting events. With a claim that soul is as important as the body, we closed the street for our season’s Grand Opening too. The posters showing how the brain benefits from a good play the same way as the body benefits from running were put out in the street. We received lots of surprise at first and plenty of positive reactions after by those who were passing by and quite a bit of attention from national media. Later a metaphorical system of soul organs was created and each soul organ was visualised in the encyclopedic manner. According to the main idea, specific soul organs were assigned to each play and used in the outdoors.

The campaign was well noticed – we’ve received a lot of media attention and even caused some stir in the professional community, with lots of discussions and praises as well as some harsh opinions. The premier plays were completely sold out and some additional shows had to be announced for the play targeted at the younger audience.