In ancient Greek, CHROMA means color; the word refers to the purity of color and its freedom from white or gray.

Chroma is a story about the limits of language, image, and the human desire for beauty. The play is created by examining the relationship between an aging writer who has lost faith in the power of language, and a young man – the embodiment of unattainable beauty. Searching for ways to capture reality, the writer, almost obsessed, films everything with his camera, trying to grasp what he can no longer convey in words.

The play explores what remains when language crumbles under the burden of personal and societal violence. The writer’s inability to express his desires reflects the broader silencing of queer voices in a world increasingly marked by radicalization and intolerance.

Inspired by the novella “Death in Venice”  by Thomas Mann and the personal story and work of British filmmaker Derek Jarman, the play Chroma explores the contradictory nature of beauty and desire – the forces having the power to attract, suppress, fascinate and destroy, – as well as loneliness, aging, and longing for youth that can be admired, but no longer touched.

The members of the play’s creative team became laureates of the 2024 Dalia Tamulevičiūtė National Playwriting Competition.

The play contains nudity, the recommended age limit is 16+.

Co-producers of the play:
MMLAB Theatre and State Youth Theatre

Partners:
VAGA Bookstore Chain, Akropolis Shopping and Entertainment Center

Funded by:
Lithuanian Council for Culture, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius City Municipality