A Pebble In The Road – Pleasance Courtyard

It was an absolute delight to spend an hour and ten minutes in the company of Ingeborga Dapkunaite, to hear her story of three generations of women, and their experiences living in Lithuania.  This is storytelling in its purest form, one person on a stage with no props other than a chair, and with Dapkunaite wearing plain black clothes so that nothing will distract us from the tale of these incredible women.

The play moves between locations but is predominately set in the family’s home in Lithuania.  We join them on Christmas eve, Dapkunaite shows us the layout of the downstairs of the house, and we learn that they will dine on twelve different dishes with the family sitting around a table with a white tablecloth.  Like every family, they have their own traditions at Christmas time, but unlike in Britain, the Soviet Union who governed Lithuania through some of the timeline; did not recognise Christmas, so they must stay quiet and not admit that they had celebrated. 

The play moves along a timeline beginning in 1905, and the lovely thing to note here, is that even though the family may move locations occasionally, the later generations keep the family traditions going, so no matter who is in control of Lithuania, their own family unit has its own ecology.  And, this is enthusiastically conveyed by the storyteller, who shows love and empathy for the tale that she is telling, and the community that this tale represents. 

To give the story context we hear about the second world war period, and after finally becoming a democratic state in 1918, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, and briefly Nazi Germany.  It was then absorbed into the Soviet Union for another fifty years until in 1990/91, when Lithuania regained their own sovereignty.  Understanding the background to the family’s story is incredibly important, as Dapkunaite shares the worrying war period, we can understand how difficult this must have been, and the descriptions are so vivid, that it feels as though a family video reel is being played.  Dapkunaite’s physicality invites you to come into the house, and to sit at the table and to dine with the family.

The stories were lovingly told, with energy and enthusiasm, and I would highly recommend going along to see this beautifully endearing solo performance – this is storytelling at its finest.

The play runs until the 31^st August (not 24^th) at 1.35pm (1hr 10mins).  To buy tickets go to – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-pebble-in-the-road

Reviewer: Caroline Worswick

Reviewed: 20^th August 2026

North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating: