At Your Service, Your Majesty! Director Oskar Wyganowski

Inspired by Janusz Korczak’s tale King Matt the First

One-act performance for children

Duration – 1 hour 15 minutes

Premiere – 21 May 2025

Performed in Lithuanian

The Great Auditorium

Creative team:

Concept Co-Creators – Raimondas Klezys, Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė, Oskar Wyganowski

Director – Oskar Wyganowski

Playwright and Adaptor – Edita Rudak

Set Designer – Oles Makukhin

Composer – Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė

Stage Manager – Eglė Kuzienė

Production Manager – Inga Sanakojevaitė

Cast:

Raimondas Klezys / Juliana Volodko, Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė, Oskar Wyganowski

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At Your Service, Your Majesty! is an interactive performance that draws inspiration from the early 20th-century children’s novel King Matt the First (Polish: Król Maciuś Pierwszy) by innovative educator, physician, and child advocate Janusz Korczak.

The play’s protagonist is a boy called Matt, who suddenly finds himself crowned king. Though a ruler, he remains an ordinary child, unfamiliar with the principles and values of adulthood. Upon ascending the throne, Matt faces numerous dilemmas and challenges posed by the world of grown-ups – full of injustices, questionable decisions, and empty ambitions. Aspiring to be a good king, the boy navigates diplomatic relationships, tackles economic issues within his kingdom, and governs in ways understandable to a child. Unfortunately, neighbouring states exploit his ‘immature’ perspective, declaring war – a conflict Matt never desired. As a result, he is forced to cope with internal political intrigues and other adversities.

This engaging and open-ended performance invites collaborative creativity, allowing its key audience – the children – not only to watch but also actively participate in decision-making alongside the protagonist. In the process, it teaches citizenship and responsibility. Identifying with King Matt becomes an experience that encourages thinking rather than passively consuming the story. The plot is not predetermined but changes based on audience choices. Both children and parents become directors of the show.

“We wanted to create an interactive performance where children could feel empowered to direct the actors and influence the events on stage. Korczak’s story perfectly serves the young audience by teaching responsibility for their actions.” (Oskar Wyganowski)

“At Your Service, Your Majesty! takes me back to childhood, to a playground where you could imagine anything, create your own world, and make decisions within it. Theatre has always been such a playground for me – like a computer game where your choices determine the rest of the story. It’s a young person’s journey into adulthood.” (Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė)

“This work is rich and multi-layered; our main task was to find a clear central idea that could bring together the entire creative team. We settled on friendship, responsibility, and diplomacy – themes important not only to children but adults too. To me, dramaturgy here is not merely structure; it’s a form of trust – trust in children as thoughtful individuals. It invites us to ask questions, take risks, make mistakes, learn, and reflect. This production was born from a desire to be with children – alongside them, rather than above them.” (Edita Rudak)

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Janusz Korczak (born Hersz Goldszmit, 1878/1879–1942) was a Polish Jewish author, publicist, physician, social activist, and innovative educator, known for his works on teaching theory and practice. A pioneer in advocating for children’s rights and equality, he was among the first to research child development, psychology, and educational diagnostics. He founded the first weekly newspaper, The Little Review (Polish: Mały Przegląd), compiled from children’s contributions and intended primarily for young readers. During his medical career, he also wrote dramas and essays under the pseudonym of Janusz Korczak. His innovative ideas and professional integrity quickly earned him wide recognition. He was murdered in 1942 in the Treblinka extermination camp.

Korczak wrote his celebrated children’s novel, King Matt the First, back in 1923. It begins, as all good stories do: “Once upon a time, there lived an old kind-hearted king whose younger son inherited the throne after his death. With the boy’s mother also gone, little Matt had no one left to offer him love...” It is not just a story about an orphan and his journey into adulthood but also a commentary on the post-World War I era – marked by corruption, greed, cynicism, and injustice. Much like Peter Pan or Pinocchio, Matt the First has captured the imagination of generations, becoming a real cultural icon.

Oskar Wyganowski is an actor who graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2016 under the tutelage of the renowned theatre director Oskaras Koršunovas. After completing his studies, Wyganowski performed in various Lithuanian venues and worked as a drama teacher in schools throughout Vilnius. In 2023, together with fellow actors Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė and Raimondas Klezys, he won the Open Space (Lithuanian: Atvira erdvė) competition, where At Your Service, Your Majesty! was brought to life.

Kūrybinė grupė:

Idėjos bendraautoriai – Raimondas Klezys, Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė, Oskar Wyganowski

Režisierius – Oskar Wyganowski

Dramaturgė, inscenizacijos autorė – Edita Rudak

Scenografijos dailininkas  – Oles Makukhin

Kompozitorė  – Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė

Režisieriaus padėjėja – Eglė Kuzienė

Spektaklio vadybininkė – Inga Sanakojevaitė

Vaidina:

Raimondas Klezys / Juliana Volodko, Kamilė Petruškevičiūtė, Oskar Wyganowski