It was specifically created for the production of works under this director, but is also active in the formation of young theater arts professionals and the promotion of Lithuanian theatre tradition both at home and abroad.
The institution is known for its streamlined stagings, heavy on metaphor, with most of its stories based on known plays, including major works by Shakespeare, Anton Chekov and Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Meno Fortas was formed in 1998 as a private, non-profit institution by Eimuntas Nekrošius, Nadežda Gultiajeva and The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania.
However, it also works to on collaborative projects with other institutions, training young theater artists, organize various types of cultural events financed by both public and private monies.
[6] He began his directing career as the “enfant terrible” of the Vilnius State Youth Theater, working there from 1978 to 1991, with a short stint from 1979 to 1980 at the Kaunas National Drama Theatre.
[6] This work popularized a new trend in Lithuanian theatre based on poetry and metaphor, with the main focus on psychology and emotion with relatively plastic acting.
Its depiction of Faust is marked by the main character slowly walking downstage as other actors are flicking ropes to makes waves in yellow light.
However, the characteristics of this piece would define Meno Fortas, as it starred a Lithuanian pop singer in the title role and featured a huge, melting chandelier made of ice hovering over the scene.
[9] Other productions include a version of Pedro Calderón's La vida es sueño with the Compañía Estable of Colombia, Cornamusa, SA of Mexico and Teatro 4 of Argentina.
[3] In 2005, two operas were produced called the Children of Rosenthal by Leonid Desyatnikov at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Boris Godunov at the Teatro Comunale in Florence.