For children, the courtyard of an apartment building is a place where anything can happen. For adults, it’s often just the path from the car to the front door. Even the theater artists photographing the courtyard are supported by “Google Maps.” “KiemArta” wants to see what would happen if we looked at our own courtyard through the eyes of a child again. On August 27, in the courtyards of Bandužiai, the Lithuanian folk tale “The Skeleton Old Man on the Iron Mountain” will be transformed into a street theater performance titled “Until I Return Home.”
On August 27, the Skeletal Old Man, the Swans, the Mother of Birds, and other heroes from Lithuanian folk tales will appear among the red apartment buildings in Bandužiai. The stage will not be a theater hall, but a real courtyard—complete with balconies, flower beds, a children’s playground, cars, and neighbors. More than forty young artists from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, the Vilnius Academy of Arts, and Kaunas University of Technology have been working together for ten days to create the play *Until I Return Home*.
Playwright Simas Zokaitis calls this Lithuanian folk tale a unique Lithuanian heroic saga: “It’s like a Lithuanian version of superheroes. The Avengers. Jonas Basanavičius compiled a medley of Lithuanian fairy tales—this is our Lithuanian Odyssey.”
However, it is not just the fairy tale itself that matters to the creators of the play. What is even more important is what happens when a fairy tale appears in a place that people are so accustomed to seeing that they take it for granted. Director Monika Steponavičiūtė explains that her first meetings with the residents of Bandužiai revealed something unexpected: “The magic is already happening in the courtyard. Residents are ready to share electricity from their balconies, and a local black cat comes to the flower beds. And when the children see us photographing the location, they think we’re ‘Google Maps.’”
Children still see their courtyard as a place where something interesting can happen. “KiemArta” wants adults to regain that perspective as well. According to the project’s creators, the courtyard shouldn’t just be a stopover between the car and the apartment. It’s one of the few public spaces where different people live side by side every day. However, living side by side doesn’t necessarily mean being together. Director Jurgita Rudėnaitė says that this is precisely the kind of encounter they’re aiming for: “We want to give the audience the feeling that magic exists in every courtyard. We want to sprinkle a pinch of magic into the pancake batter this evening.”
“Until I Come Home” is deliberately created not only for the traditional theatergoer. Children, seniors, neighbors, and those who have never had a reason to seek out culture in Bandužiai are all invited to this fairy-tale-like courtyard.
The creators of “KiemArta” have experienced firsthand that this shared experience transforms more than just the audience. The project has brought together young artists from various fields of theater who are learning to create together—not by competing, but by trusting one another. Set designer Maja Kriaučiūnaitė: “Usually, when working at the academy, there’s a lot of competition and tension, but here there are so many young, ambitious artists who all work together and help one another.”

“Until I Come Home”—a play about coming home.
Not only the return of the fairy-tale heroes, but also our own return to a place that we see every day.

On August 27 at 6:30 p.m., the Skeleton Grandpa will arrive at the courtyards of 6 Jūrininkų Ave. and 4 Lūžų St. The event is free and open to everyone.

Maybe it’s worth coming by to see if there’s still room for a fairy tale in your backyard.

“KiemArta” 2026 – A joint project of the Klaipėda Youth Theater, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, the public institution “Meno banga,” and the student creative group “Ašaka.” The project is partially funded by the Klaipėda City Municipality. “KiemArta” is now in its second year.

Our event is sponsored by: “Biržų duona,” ME2U snacks, “Būkčia kombučia,” Baltic Palettes, and the Klaipėda Culture Factory.

Creative Team
Orestas Streikus, Matas Jeremičius, Agnė Virkutytė, Motiejus Aškelovičius, Pijus Šiaulys, Medeinė Marija Gavrilovė, Viktorija Aliukonytė, Adomas Jakovlevas, Emilija Ieva Giedraitytė, Goda Dambrauskaitė, Emilija Žuravliovaitė, Dita Klinkaitė, Jonas Rakauskas, Amelija Ramonaitė, Džiugas Šveikauskas, Vytautė Lukošaitytė, Emilija Griškonytė, Simas Zokaitis, Miglė Cirulytė, Aurelija Šiškaitė, Lukrecija Penkauskaitė, Simona Grigoryan, Jurgita Rudėnaitė, Monika Steponavičiūtė, Danielė Kairytė, Ugnė Daukšaitė, Simonas Kukys, Gerda Dapkūnaitė, Rugilė Kasputytė, Urtė Kliaudaitytė, Ieva Zubaitytė, Maja Kriaučiūnaitė, Nika Shilova, Robertas Tamošiūnas, Laimis Kuzmickas, Martynas Mockevičius

Photos by Ignas Aleinikovas.

This report was prepared by
Ašaka Creative Team

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