A dark figure appears in the corridor of the Underwater Palace. She holds a candle. The light from the candle reflects on the wet stone walls. The figure moves confidently, making no sound. She reaches the staircase, opens a trapdoor in the ceiling, and steps out onto the surface of the island. She runs to the other side of the island, where a boat is waiting for her…
Who is this figure and why is she running away from the palace?
A retelling of perhaps the most popular Lithuanian fairy tale, “Egle, the Serpent Queen”, which reveals the bond between mother Egle and young daughter Drebule. In a live performance, storyteller Milda Varnauskaitė combines Lithuanian mythology and folklore with an original interpretation of the tale. Milda uses words to create a rich world of images in which the secrets of the Serpent’s Palace are revealed.

Text: Milda Varnauskaitė

Text consultant: Abbi Patrix

Performance consultants: Karina Novikova, Margo van de Linde

Milda Varnauskaitė is a professional storyteller and teacher of storytelling. Milda appears as a storyteller at various events in the Netherlands and Lithuania, sharing autobiographical, folklore, historical stories, and combinations thereof. The Amsterdam International Storytelling Festival, the Terschelling Oerol Arts Festival, and the Explore the North Festival in Leeuwarden are just a few of the many venues where Milda has told stories. In Lithuania, Milda collaborates with Vilnius University, Kaunas – European Capital of Culture – 2022, and the National Museum of Lithuania. She studied storytelling at the Berlin University of the Arts, Oslo Metropolitan University, and graduated from the Mezrab Storytelling School in Amsterdam, where she also worked for more than 3 years at the Mezrab Cultural Centre, one of the largest storytelling centres in Europe, attracting around 800 people every week to different storytelling events.

IMPORTANT. The event will be in lithuanian.