Kukutis in the Dark

Kukutis in the Dark is a new audio drama by Amanda Dalton, adapted from The Ballads of Kukutis by Marcelijus Martinaitis, translated by Laima Vince, and starring Paterson Joseph, Guy Rhys and Kristina Buikaite.

There will be a live audio playout of the drama in the Poetry Library, followed by a Q&A with Amanda Dalton and Tony Ward of Arc Publications, hosted by Anjum Malik.

The Ballads of Kukutis is an iconic poem sequence by Lithuania's leading poet, Marcelijus Martinaitis, written in the last days of Soviet rule in Lithuania. Its hero is the joker Kukutis, acting and commenting on the world around him in the manner of a Shakespearian fool. Kukutis is a folk hero in Lithuania, symbolising the little people rising up against the elite. When Lithuania broke away from Soviet rule in 1988, in what became known as the Singing Revolution, thousands of people gathered on the streets singing and shouting the name Kukutis as a symbol of a free, independent Lithuania.

The event will run 6pm - 8pm with an interval and drinks provided.

Produced by Polly Thomas, for Arc Publications. Funded by the Lithuanian Culture Institute.

Amanda Dalton

Amanda Dalton is a poet and playwright and is currently a visiting fellow at Manchester Met's Writing School. Her poetry collections How To Disappear and Stray are published by Bloodaxe and her recent pamphlets include an experimental poetry 'sketchbook', 30 Poems in Thirty Days (Arc Publications 2021) and Notes on Water (smith|doorstop 2022). Her writing for theatre and audio includes BBC Radio 4 and 3 original plays, drama documentary, essays and adaptations from writers including Tove Jansson, Henry James and Jackie Kay, and from classic film. She has recently completed a version of Marcelijus Martinaitis' The Ballads of Kukutis (pubc. Arc, translated by Laima Vince) and is currently writing text for a series of short films with Manchester Camerata, a new commission for Keswick's Theatre By The Lake, and a new collection of poems for Bloodaxe. Amanda lives in Hebden Bridge. Her website is amandadalton.co.uk

Polly Thomas

Polly Thomas is an award-winning freelance director and producer of radio and theatre. She has worked for all major BBC Radio networks, Royal Exchange Theatre, LIFT, Resonance FM, Audible and Manchester International Festival. Recent work includes a new 10 part version of The Aeneid with songs, by Maria Davhana Headley for Audible; Relativity series 4, by Richard Herring, for Radio 4; Poetic Provocations essay series by Inua Ellams for Radio 3, exec producing Jason's Mates by Peter Strickland for Radio 4; co directing Exemplar by Ben and Max Ringham, with Dan Rebellato for Radio 4 and BBC Sounds; and co directing The Chatterleys with Jenny Sealey of Graeae for Radio 4. Awards include Silver for You & Me by Dan Rebellato, ARIAS 2022; Of a Lifetime by Lulu Razcka, Imison Best First Audio Drama 2019 and best adaptation A Tale of Two Cities by Ayehsa Menon, BBC Audio Awards 2019. She is executive producer for Sound Stage, the digital theatre space created in 2020 by Pitlochry Festival Theatre/Royal Lyceum Edinburgh with Naked Productions. Through the company she set up and co directs with Gary Carter, Thomas Carter Projects, she produced 24 Hours of Peace in 2019, Neil Bartlett’s epic celebration of peace live on stage and national radio. Polly was an in-house BBC Radio Drama North producer 1998 – 2008. She was director of Brouhaha International street theatre festival in Liverpool from 1993 – 1998. Her website is pollythomas.org.uk

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University, Grosvenor East Building, Manchester, United Kingdom