Guests to a revelatory Kosovo – Albania Theatre Showcase
by Dr. Kyriakos P. Loukakos, honorary president of the Greek Drama and Music Critics Union (est. 1928)
It was with unalloyed pleasure that we responded to the courteous invitation by Qendra Multimedia, a cultural organization based in Prishtina, Kosovo and focused on contemporary theatre and literature. The institution, as a production company, has gained a reputation for producing some of the most timely and provocative work in South-East Europe with performances that create debate among audiences and feature collaborations with theatre companies across Europe and in the USA, including the Volksbühne in Berlin and La MaMa in New York.
This fall’s Kosovo – Albania Theatre Showcase, held in Tirana from October 29th to November 2nd 2024, offered a wide and dense spectrum of relevant activities, including interviews, panel and public discussions, networking and promotional initiatives and presentation of projects as well as a series of contemporary theatre and music performances of Balkan reference from our hosts, theatrical entities from Greece and Serbia and in coproductions with such prestigious institutions as the Florence Teatro della Pergola, Paris Théâtre de la Ville, not to mention, among others, a significant coproduction of the hosting Prishtina-based company with Masal Gerçek Tiyatrosu from Istanbul (as ever Constantinople to us Greeks).
A somewhat different «Faust»
Although a great demonstration literally blocked circulation in central Tirana and, consequently, our participation during the first day’s afternoon events, we managed to be promptly present to the 20.00 h. performance at the Arturbina Theatre, the rewarding experience of the Albanian National Theatre’s production of «Faust», directed by Davide Jodice and based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s plot for both Parts 1 and 2 of his play, «reworked according to Marlowe, Spies and dramaturgy by Fabio Pisano». In this version «“Faust” follows the heroic journey of Dr. Faust, who is tempted by Mephistopheles after he makes a bet with God to prove that mankind does not always choose good». The program notes of the performance view as Pisano’s goal and achievement «to enclose the emblem of the modern soul» fitting «perfectly into our times». Furthermore, «unlike the classic myth of Faust, handed down by oral and dramatic tradition, Goethe’s protagonist does not sign a pact with the Devil (Mephistopheles), but agrees to participate in a real walk, a metaphor for the journey within the self and the world, within one’s own weaknesses and limits». In Davide Iodice’s production Faust doesn’t become younger, but «he is so overwhelmed by the weight of existence and knowledge, … his obsession … within the Scriptures, that he decides to give his soul … in exchange for a moment … of eternity» as «a reflection not only of a philosophical speculation, but, above all, of an anthropological dimension». Embodying «the torments of modern man … the symbol and at the same time the exemplary sacrifice of the constant and infinite struggle of good against evil … Iodice’s staging recalls symbolic elements, which through their use and transformation, lead» to «a liberation, an ascetism: the ultimate road to condemnation, or redemption».
And indeed, Faust’s ultimate conviction about the futility of seeking the origins and overlooking the end, which itself doesn’t hide any other major conclusion than its own irrevocable occurring, represented our only major reservation towards productions of all-time-classics’ like this reformative one, that exploit plots but often ignore another of their «ends», at least regarding the ancient Greek notion of the word «τέλος» as fulfillment, consummation, result. This should be, in our humble opinion, primarily the illuminating projection of the original text and its indisputable all-time reference status. Otherwise, this Faust was a performance of considerable density and vitality, with splendidly evocative lightings by François Hamelin and a simplistic yet impressive scenery, allowing quick and operational frequent changes, by Iodice himself and Laedia Hajdari, the latter being also responsible for the costumes including the emblematically sarcastic all-white one for the female Mephistopheles of the distinguished Ema Andrea in this ever pivotal and tricky role. One of his kind proved also Hervin Çuli, the former director of the Albania’s National Theatre, as the eponymous scientist in a deeply thought and deeply felt incarnation surrounded by the cream of his colleagues.
«Six against Turkey» based on Aeschylus’s «Seven against Thebes»
Two major events of the following days marked the shattering effect of contemporary political theatre, when its organizers gather the courage to confront actual policies of even powerful countries with ailing -to say the least- democracies and their autocratic and legally unacceptable methods to pursue their opponents by violating even the territorial integrity of other states, especially if those are still on their way of formation, such as was the case of the 2018 Kosovo.
«Six Against Turkey» is a work by the distinguished Kosovo Albanian dramaturg Jeton Neziraj, his plays considered by «The Guardian» no less as «raucous, irreverent and absurdist (that) invoke Ibsen, Molière and Kafka, while raging against corruption and injustice». Created by an international collective of theatre-makers from Kosovo, Turkey and some EU countries, the production, by Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo) & Gerçek Tiyatrosu (Turkey) in association with My Balkans (US/Serbia), brings to the fore «a theatre initiative exploring the degradation of democracy and the rise of the populist-nationalist regimes and authoritarianism in Europe».
According to the program notes, «In 2018, six Turkish school teachers were arrested in Kosovo and deported to Turkey. Their Kosovo residency permits were revoked for allegedly being a threat to national security. The six men were wanted in Turkey because of their alleged links to the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose movement Turkey blamed for the failed coup in 2016. Tens of thousands of alleged Gulen supporters have been arrested or lost their jobs in Turkey since the failed coup. Many have proclaimed their innocence. Gulen has denied he and his supporters were behind the attempt to topple Erdogan’s government. When televisions in Kosovo broadcasted the arrest of six Turkish citizens, people legitimately asked: How was it possible for such a mafia-like abduction to take place in a country that claimed to be democratic, like Kosovo, and surely with the authorization and under the watch of Kosovo’s state leaders? The abduction exposed the fragility of Kosovo’s state institutions, which remain hostage to the political and economic hegemonies of powerful countries. However, the incident also served as a lesson for all of us: authoritarianism is not an ‘isolated island’ but has the tendency to be copied and imported, as was the case with fascism in the past. Since coming to power in 2002 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has overseen a radical transformation of Turkey, which has given way to a one-man rule. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance the number of countries moving toward authoritarianism is more than double those moving toward democracy and that authoritarian regimes worldwide have deepened their repression. Drawing inspiration from Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, Six Against Turkey takes a nuanced look at Erdogan’s Turkey and asks why do societies founded on pluralism fail to deliver on their promise? Why are so many of today’s politicians resorting to increasingly oppressive ideologies?»
The performance is solidly based on and inspired by Aeschylus’s «Seven against Thebes» and in Blerta Neziraj ‘s impressive production presents a terrifyingly accurate yet sardonic narration of the facts. The «timely questions about the reach of oppressive regimes across borders…about governments and/or states who by inflicting terror, violence, persecution and war, lead their people to destruction» are handled with a scenic inspiration graced by a wealth of colours and folk elements, traditional puppet theatre figures, well known and developed to both Greece and Turkey, with a really hair rising facility of transition from the tenderness for a cat, the family world of a girl or a president posing in bathing suit in Marmaris resort during a presumably fake coup-d-état to the freaky element of conspiracy, violence, murder or exile. The final scene, with a monstrous giant octopus emerging from the womb of an alienated state and engulfing the stage and its inhabitants, was powerfully and evocatively symbolic, the last word though given to the actors in an updated version of their written statement («The sensitivity of the subject matter in Turkey and elsewhere means that the journey to making this production in Kosovo has not been easy, it has even been challenging»), informing the public about last minute withdrawals of otherwise enthusiastic actors in fear for consequences regarding themselves or others related to them, reason enough for a grateful applause to the few brave ones of the team (Adrian Morina, Ernest Malazogu, Shpetim Selmani, Verona Koxha, Albina Krasniqi, Don Shala) who made it to this impressive premiere!
«The Internationals» by a Greek team
Neziraj was a key figure behind this courageous Kosovo-Albania theatre showcase, with free books of his plays gratefully accompanying our journey back, translated to English and published in movingly low-cost editions, revelatory of his every day struggle to promote his vision. Drawing from more remote times in contemporary history, that is from the years of former Yugoslavia’s dismantle and the wars of Serbia in Bosnia and Kosovo, his «The Internationals», with Aktina Stathaki directing the Greek «Between the Seas: Mediterranean Performance Lab» team, featured each of the three ladies of the cast (Anastasia Katsinavaki, Vivi Petsi and Arianna Chatzigalanou) in an alternate impersonation of a female quartet that played a crucial part to the historical events that keep the Balkans in a still relatively unsettled situation. By means of «22 vignettes, loosely connected around the figure of Hague criminal court prosecutor Carla del Ponte», questions verging to the absurdist, i.e. «How does a Starbucks vanilla chai latte taste in Pristina? What did Mother Teresa tell Bill Clinton on the phone? How hard is it to buy a kidney? Where was Madeleine Albright when the first bomb exploded in Serbia? And what if the kidney belongs to Marina Abramovic? Do you know who created the state of Kosovo?» the questions find often unexpected and surely non-conformist answers.
The program notes explain that «Neziraj employs his signature satirical style to explore how a state is created, exposing the political games played around a people’s plea for sovereignty and the winners and losers of war. The powerful of the world, be it in the political or the cultural sphere, those who dominate the narrative, are juxtaposed in the play’s nonlinear, absurdist structure and style, with the simple people who try to survive in a changing world that they do not comprehend and where they are always the innocent victims. It is the very locality of the play, its piercing satire and the astuteness of its interpretation of our neo-colonial world order, that make it relevant and timely beyond the borders of Kosovo».
Performed at the moderately sized Tulla Cultural Centre, with a cozy coffee shop atmosphere and arrangement of seats, the performance had an irreversible intensity and variety forming a relentless and demanding sequence of exhilarating scenic vigour and ultimately liberating effect.
Kadare on Ali Pasha of Janina
Comparably interesting proved Ismail Kadare‘s «The Traitor’s Niche», in a stage adaptation by Doruntina Basha and in a National Theatre of Kosovo production, iconoclastically directed by Kushtrim Koliqi. According to the back cover of the book’s translation to English by John Hodgson, also reproduced in the Kosovo-Albania Theatre Showcase’s booklet, «at the heart of the Ottoman Empire, in the main square of Constantinople, a niche is carved into ancient stone. Here, the sultan displays the severed heads of his adversaries. People flock to see the latest head and gossip about the state of the empire: the province of Albania is demanding independence again, and the niche awaits a new trophy…
Tundj Hata, the imperial courier, is charged with transporting heads to the capital – a task he relishes and performs with fervour. But as he travels through obscure and impoverished territories, he makes money from illicit side-shows, offering villagers the spectacle of death. The head of the rebellious Albanian governor would fetch a very high price.
The Traitor’s Niche is a surreal tale of rebellion and tyranny, in a land where armies carry scarecrows, state officials ban entire languages, and the act of forgetting is more complicated than remembering».
The play, understandably forbidden by the Enver Hoxha authorities, depicts the state of fear that prevails in an oppressive regime, the dominant threat of a traitor’s accusation and its irrevocable persecution, lethal even to Ali Pasha, a successful general of the Ottoman Empire who raised suspicions of uprise against the Sultan and fell prey of an insidious trap by the almost comically weak and diffident monarch. Born in the Northern Epirus Albanian city of Tepelena (Τεπελένι in Greek, meaning Helen’s Hill), a place widely known to Greeks for their last victory over the Mussolini Italian invaders in March 1941, Ali Pasha’s controversial fame has acquired operatic status in works such as «Ali Pascha von Janina oder Die Franzosen in Albanien» (world premiere in Münster, 01/02/1828), German composer’s Albert Lortzing (1801-1851) first stage work, and «Frossini» (premiered at the “Apollon” Theatre of Zakynthos on November 16, 1868 and subsequently presented in Patras, Athens, Alexandria and other Greek centres) by his Greek colleague Paolo Carrer (1829-1896) on a libretto in Italian by Zakynthiot poet Elisavetios Martinegkos (1832-1885) drawing on Aristoteles Valaoritis’ «Lady Frossini», the latter depicting historic events that took place in January 1801 -the illicit love affair of Euphrosyne Vasileiou (Frossini) with Ali Pasha’s son Muhtar and her tragic death for not succumbing to Ali’s amorous advances.
Following an almost Shakespearean vein of power’s inexorable seeking and contemplation and with more than a hint of Machiavellian pragmatism, the play ends with the Robespierre-like execution of the Sultan’s confidant, the killings’ initiator himself (here impersonated by the actress Gresa Pallaska), after the extinction of all of his adversaries. The evident didacticism of the performance led to an almost commedia dell’ arte simplicity of the drama’s presentation and ethics, with a tense and fast-moving team of young performers headed by the aptly fearsome Abdullah of Ylber Bardhi and the grave Ali Pasha ofBislim Muçaj, depicted as an elderly, wise but also fatally appeased lion.
A radically modern «Tartuffe»
If anybody fathomed that the closing performance of this highly involving showcase would in any way conform to theatrical formalism, just because Molière’s «Tartuffe» comes from the age of the French Bourbon monarchy, was due for a major surprise. Then, the City Theatre of Gjilan (Kosovo) production by the North-Macedonia born theatre, film and -most interestingly to us- opera director Qëndrim Rijani proved to totally eschew any pretentious and courtly notion in favour of his already familiar direct and viscerally rough element. His shocking scenic attempt, served with unabashed devotion by a strong and self-effacing cast, culminated to an onstage slaughter of sacrificial breadth, after exploiting even the musical interludes of the performance to provide inventive stimuli to the menacing atmosphere of the spectacle. We look forward to hosting his work in Athens!
