OTFRIED PREUẞLER PERFORMANCE “THE LITTLE WITCH” | CULTURE NIGHT 2026 – OPEN ACADEMY
June 12, 2026, Friday, 7:00 p.m.
LMTA Study Campus Theatre Hall (Olandų St. 21A, Vilnius)
PERFORMANCE “THE LITTLE WITCH” (OTFRIED PREUẞLER) | CULTURE NIGHT 2026 – OPEN ACADEMY
Registration required:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrmpNVkH4LMHmWZJrb-ZWtbdnauMXbiwe4P9fud2Zn2l38Sw/viewform
The performance based on Otfried Preußler’s fairy tale The Little Witch is a warm and educational story about a young witch who is only 127 years old and therefore considered too young to participate in the grand and extravagant witches’ celebration – Walpurgis Night.
Ignoring the prohibitions, she secretly attends the celebration, but is punished and given a task – to become a “good witch” within one year. At first, the little witch believes that being a good witch means mastering spells and following witches’ rules. Gradually, however, she realizes that true goodness lies not in magic, but in actions.
Together with her loyal raven companion Abraxas, she embarks on a journey full of adventures and lessons, helping ordinary people – punishing the unjust, defending the weak, and restoring justice. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding is revealed during an examination organized by the witches’ council, angering the old witches even more and leading to an even harsher punishment.
Yet, with her quick wit and playful character, she finds a way to outsmart the wicked old witches and bring only goodness into the world. The performance is filled with adventure, gentle humour, and wise lessons about responsibility, honesty, and the courage to be yourself.
Cast:
Morta Damaševičiūtė
Kasparas Lapėnas
Jurgis Vyrukaitis
Milana Kliukaitė
Nedas Baliukevičius
Dominykas Stulpinas
Arnas Daunoravičius
Kristupas Knispelis
Lauryna Šarlauskaitė
Nojus Žalys
Director
Morta Damaševičiūtė
Scenography:
Morta Damaševičiūtė
Kasparas Lapėnas
Lighting and sound designers:
Vilius Klimavičius
Nojus Šimkus
Matas Pranskevičius
Balys Švedas
OPEN ACADEMY / Culture Night 2026
During “Culture Night”, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre opens its spaces to the city and invites audiences on a journey through music and theatre stretching from the halls and corridors of LMTA’s central building to Lukiškės Square and the new stage of the Theatre and Dance Faculty at the Study Campus.
This year’s programme brings together different art forms, generations, and sound worlds – from Mozart’s music and experimental electronics to theatre and piano performances under the open sky.
At the beginning of the evening, visitors at the Academy will be able to discover a variety of musical experiences. In the J. Karosas Hall, audiences will have a rare opportunity to hear almost all of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s songs for voice and piano performed on an authentic 18th-century fortepiano. At the same time, LMTA corridors will transform into a vibrant experimental music space, where the electronic music ensemble will perform an electronic version of Terry Riley’s minimalist composition In C, in which improvisation, pulse, and collective creativity create a different sonic experience every time.
Theatre also plays an important role in LMTA’s “Culture Night” programme. Audiences are invited to visit the new LMTA Theatre and Dance Faculty Hall on Olandų Street, where the performance The Little Witch will be presented. This warm, playful, and imaginative story about a young witch will become an invitation to discover the works of emerging theatre creators and the Academy’s new spaces.
Lukiškės Square will traditionally become the central point of the evening, hosting the piano music night “Black on White”. Since 2009, the project has become an inseparable part of “Culture Night” – featuring open-air performances by young LMTA pianists and, at midnight, a recital by Professor Petras Geniušas.
This year, the concert will once again connect different Lithuanian cities – for the third time, “Black on White” will be livestreamed to six locations across Lithuania, expanding the piano music night beyond Vilnius.
This year’s LMTA programme invites audiences to experience the Academy as a vibrant, open, and constantly evolving cultural space, where music and theatre move beyond traditional stages into squares, corridors, and unexpected meeting places, and where one night becomes an opportunity to hear, see, and experience the Academy in an entirely different rhythm.