THE MAN-BOX

(HOW TO MAKE A BOX)

Materials:
Empty corrugated cardboard box – 1.
A square piece of polyethylene film (medium transparency) – 50×50 cm.
Adhesive tape (waterproof) – about 8 meters.
Wire – about 2 meters.
Curved knife (work tool).
Any corrugated cardboard box with a base measuring 1×1 m and a height of about 1 m 30 cm will work. From a practical standpoint, the best standard shipping box is usually called a “quarter box.”

“The Box Man” is a visual theater piece inspired by the novel of the same name by Japanese author Kobo Abe. It is a surreal story about a man who one day rejects his ordinary life and chooses to hide inside a cardboard box. Here, the box becomes more than just a physical hiding place—it transforms into a body, a mask, a surveillance device, and a self-imposed prison, allowing him to withdraw from the world and, at the same time, take a fresh look at himself.

This work explores dissociation and the disintegration of identity—a state in which a person, under the pressure of everyday life, information overload, social roles, and the constant need to adapt, gradually becomes detached from themselves. Most of us go through life performing functions: we work, speak, react, and move, but sometimes we become mere observers of our own lives. The box serves as a metaphor for this state—a place where one can hide from the world, yet at the same time disappear into it.

Director – Paulius Juška
Scenografijos, kostiumų dailininkė – Vaiva Paulauskaitė
Composer – Kotryna Jančauskaitė
Choreographer – Edvardas Kažarnovičius
Light designer – Gabrielė Tumaitė
Video artists: Vytis Mantrimavičius, Kristina Savickaitė
Actors: Simonas Goptaitis, Ainis Kazlauskas, Edvardas Kazarnovičius