For most, especially the younger generation, Regina Varnaitė got stuck as Uršulė from the director Arūnas Žebriūnas’ 1973 musical film The Devil’s Bride, which is still sometimes shown on television. The audience also admired the audience of the series “Relatives” directed by Saulius Vosylius and its sequels, where the actress created the character of Paulė Šakalytė.
Loyal fans still remember her expressive roles in the Kaunas National Drama Theater – Vini’s absurd play “Happy Days” (Samuel Beckett, dir. Birutė Marcinkevičiūtė), Joker in the play “The Twelfth Night” America in the Baths ”(Antanas Keturakis, dir. Valdas Lencevičius) … By 2010, the actress had created 90 different comic, tragic and dramatic roles in the mentioned theater.
Photo from personal album / Regina Varnaitė sips coffee in the kitchen
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The works of the legendary R.Varnaitė are also immortalized in recordings, which are sometimes seen by the actress herself, who today enjoys a quiet life in Kaunas with her daughter Aušra Eidukaityte.
At the moment, when the pandemic, which has disrupted the normal rhythm of life, is taking special care of the mother’s safety, she is not allowed to go to the gathering places. So, when she receives a question about her health, Regina, 94, does not complain – she thanks her for the inquiry and answers that she is doing well at the moment.
Talking to 15min, R. Varnaitė emphasizes: “There is no” routine “in my years … Every day is a gift from God, and everyday life is like a holiday!”
– Dear Regina, there are a lot of negative emotions around this turbulent time, a sharp division of people. How are you going through the pandemic period?
– I am with my loved ones all the time, I do not live alone, so emotions depend on family members. If they are happy – it is more fun for me, if they are upset, they are sad about something, then there are difficulties …
– You spend a lot of time with your daughters. Has your relationship with your family always been so strong?
– As I said, I have never lived alone. When I married actor Vytautas Eidukaitis, our daughters were born, Vytautas’ parents returned from exile, of course, having lost their homes and property, they had nowhere to shelter, so we lived together, as did my mother. There were a lot of household worries, deprivation, various difficulties then, but we survived.
When my parents died, and later Vytautas, I was left with my daughters and grandchildren. It was fun when all the grandchildren – Andrius, Vytautas and Jorūnė – studied in Kaunas: full houses of fun, young people. My grandchildren were married, I had grandchildren, now they have their own homes, but when they can, they come to visit me. Also, my daughter Vyta, who lives in Kretinga, comes to visit, or I go to visit her.
And daughter Aušra has always been there, we are together, she takes care of me, together we decide what to do.
Photo by Josvydas Elinskas / 15min / Regina Varnaitė with her daughter, Nijolė Narmontaitė
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– In an interview a couple of years ago, you said that you and your daughter occasionally visit current performances. Although there weren’t many of them due to the pandemic lately, maybe you had to see someone?
– No, I wasn’t in the theater during the pandemic. My daughter doesn’t let me say I’m not safe, it’s hard to stay with a mask for a few hours, she doesn’t want to risk my health.
Photo from personal album / Regina Varnaitė at the Christmas tree
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– Do you often visit the scene longing these days? Maybe it is somewhat dampened by communication with people from the theater world?
– If someone from a colleague calls, we talk on the phone.
I don’t know, I don’t think you need to miss what won’t be. My daughter tries to remind me, she shows recordings of performances, photos. I am glad that I did this, that there were also good performances, successful roles, meaningful meetings with the audience.
Photo of personal album / Regina Varnaitė (Bekampienė) in the performance “America in the Bathhouse” (Keturakis, dir. V.Lencevičius, 1974), 2015.
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– Now, looking back at your stage experience, what moments would you identify as the most influential, cornerstones that have made you who you are now?
– I always felt the support of the audience, attention, there were a lot of good feedback about the roles I created. Despite the difficulties, it allowed me not to get upset and helped me stay on my own.
Once, when I left the theater, the audience stopped me and said, “You can’t say anything, don’t play, just stay on stage, sit down, and we’ll look at you, and that’s enough, we still like it.”
One colleague, while staging the play, asked me to allow him to put his last name on the gadget. Said, “Regina, you don’t have to do anything, we just want more viewers to come to our show.”
Yes, there were various roles – episodic and main, I tried to perform them responsibly and creatively. But still, I don’t think I wouldn’t be who I am now without the love of the audience.
Photo of personal album / Regina Varnaitė (Beatrice) after the last performance “Love, Jazz and the Devil” with her daughters and granddaughter, 2004.
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– How do you remember your last time on stage today?
– There is a lot on the stage of the last time in the life of an actress, because every performance comes to play for the last time, and with it ends the life of the character you have created. You may not think about it during the performance, but in the make-up room, when you last take off the character’s suit, it is always sad – as if something is coming out forever and will never happen again.
– You emphasized that the love of the audience has made a big part of your career. Or maybe you could single out the specific people who made the biggest impact on your life?
– In childhood, the biggest influence was probably made by parents, and now probably children, or, so to speak, grandchildren (laughs). It affects those people who know me best, those who are close to me.
– Do you like to travel to your youth with memories? What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to that year?
– It is difficult to say anything about my youth now. A young man has to study, travel, get to know the world, but when I was young, it was impossible because it was post-war and occupation. During my studies, I fell in love with a man and married him. And that’s probably the only thing that makes sense to me right now because I have a family.
Photo album of personal album / Regina Varnaitė with grandchildren, 2018.
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– As for the family, you were considered an ideal couple with your bright memory husband, actor Vytautas Eidukaitis. Tell me, what is the recipe for such a successful relationship? These days, more and more couples are not passing the test, turning in different ways.
– Loyalty is important – you need to be able to trust a person. You need to cherish your loved ones. It happened that we argued about some household details, but we agreed on the essentials, our views coincided about what was going on in the theater, what was successful, about what was unsuccessful. We supported each other, we were together, as they say, both in misery and in joy.
– You have extensive life experience. Are you inclined to share tips with others?
– I’m not advising anymore (laughs). I’d rather listen to advice, of course, when advised by a loving person.
Now that the time has come to leave home, I remember playing Vini in Samuel Beckett’s absurd play “Happy Days” directed by Birutė Marcinkevičiūtė in 1993, more than 25 years ago.
Photo of personal album / Algimantas Masiulis (Vilis) and Regina Varnaitė (Vini) in the performance “Happy Days” (S.Beketas, dir. B.Marcinkevičiūtė, 1993)
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In the decorations of the performance, the woman Vini is tied to the waist in the first action and to the neck in the second action. The character does not move during the whole performance, only the face, eyes, sounds play … When creating the role I reflected on every word, subtext, pauses, I knew the thought and what I want to say, although I did not have a real experience, I relied on my intuition and intuition.
Now, watching the TV recording of this performance, I see that I am like Vini – all those words, feelings, states accurately reflect my current life. I used to create a character, and the character now shows me me …
– Are there any unfulfilled desires today?
– I’m OK. I am grateful for my life, experience, recognition and love, and I wish you all good friendship, happiness, creative joy and a successful life!
More moments in Regina Varnaitė’s life in the gallery:
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