"The controversial reaction proves our play is a good one. It means we really touched the nerve," Castellucci said in an interview published by Lietuvos Rytas daily on Wednesday.
The play "On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God" is scheduled to go on stage at the National Drama Theater in Vilnius on Saturday.
The play drew heated reactions in France and some other countries, as well. By contrast, the play did not trigger any negative response in the highly Catholic Poland, which saw much more protests against the concert by American pop singer Madonna, said the daily.
"The nerve we touched in our play is the link between art and religion. The two have always been related. Art originated at the same time as religion did. Their origin is the call of mind, a demand. We touched upon the problem that may arise in collision of the two areas, especially since one of them has become a tool used by politicians. Therefore, the objectives of the protests in, let's say, France were not religious," the director said.
The play features a fragment of the Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina's painting Salvator Mundi, which portrays Jesus Crist. In the play, the Crist overlooks the relations between a father and a son. The elderly father who is unable to hold faeces and taints his son's apartment.
Discussions about the play started at the Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday – the lawmakers opened debates into two resolutions condemning the play and calling to boycott or terminate it. Advertisement of the play drew protests of the Catholic Church.
Culture Minister Arūnas Gelūnas rejected the censorship calls as unacceptable in a democratic country.
Reservation
Lithuanian Parliamentary Speaker Irena Degutienė on Wednesday called for reservation regarding the play.
She said that state institutions should evaluate whether the content of the play was in line with the Constitution. Nevertheless, Degutienė emphasized that bans would not produce expected results, saying that top leaders of Lithuania's Catholic Church had also asked the society to refrain from anger.
"I believe we should act in a moderate manner. Those responsible should look into possible violations of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania," Degutienė, deputy leader of the ruling Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, told Žinių Radijas news radio.
"Bans will probably take us nowhere, we would only advertise the play," the parliamentary speaker said.
The politician also cited the article of the Constitution which suggest that "Freedom to express convictions and to impart information shall be incompatible with criminal actions - incitement of national, racial, religious, or social hatred, violence and discrimination, with slander and disinformation."
