Elira Lluka

Media: France24
Story Title: Balkans women stage ancient Greek play to condemn women’s suffering in war
Date: November 23, 2024
Link: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241123-balkans-women-stage-ancient-greek-play-to-condemn-women-s-suffering-in-war?fbclid=IwY2xjawIO7RxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHT8jL43N7d1kHtq6WPrtyiOAE6dO-mPyb_DGkHUWVgOUiZ6dsF0v0ggOLA_aem_4LJBQYCotY2dP6nIQlZj5Q

Belgrade (AFP) – Maja Mitic is Serbian. Zana Hoxha is Kosovar. Their adaptation of an ancient Greek tragedy highlights not so much the devastation war inflicts on women but women’s capacity to heal and resist.

Euripides’s “Trojan Women”, first performed in 415 BC, is an acerbic condemnation of the atrocities of war. It focusses on the misery and injustices the women of Troy endure after the conflict between their people and the Greeks.

The adaptation that Hoxha and Mitic are currently staging in the Balkans has a quite distinct focus.

“In our version, we are moving forward by also taking care of each other, by finding ways to save our children,” said Hoxha, who directed the play.

It demonstrates “that amidst conflict and war, amidst hatred, women are the ones that find ways to resist,” she said of the play, being performed in Belgrade on Friday and Saturday night after two shows in Kosovo.

This production echoes the interminable discussions between the male politicians of Serbia and Kosovo who — a quarter of a century after the end of the war between Belgrade and its breakaway province — have still not concluded a lasting peace. The women negotiate on the soberly designed set.

As a Kosovar and feminist director “who still remembers war” and also the times of the former Yugoslavia, 43-year-old Hoxha said, “it was important to do this play because unfortunately it’s very relevant”.

Transcending language

In Euripides’s play, the women of Troy are married by force to their worst enemies, murdered and sacrificed on the tombs of men who fell in battle.

They are the victims of the war that follows war.

The tale needed two women to tell it, stressed Hoxha’s co-director Mitic, a prominent figure in Serbian theatre since the 1990s.

“The men, they make wars… The consequences are on women and the children of these women,” she said.

Mitic plays Hecuba, the former queen of Troy, whose children are sacrificed, one after the other, to the follies of war.

She recites Euripides’s ancient text in Serbian.

Thaltybios, who comes to tell the women of their fate, replies in Albanian.

An English translation scrolls across the back wall.

After a few minutes, listeners can no longer distinguish the different languages because the pain is universal.

“The relationship, the emotions that these actors are able to carry are more important than the language barriers,” Hoxha said.

‘Art has power’

And whether they speak Serbian, Kosovar Albanian or English, the Trojan women make audiences reflect and make them angry.

“Even our characters are angry,” Hoxha explained.

“They say like, you know, ‘fuck this shit, we don’t want this anymore.’

“‘Why are we suffering? Why do Cassandras have to exist today? Why does Andromache have to lose her child?”

At one point in the play, Hoxha recalled, Andromache says she wants to be able to walk around freely with her husband and son and not feel threatened in the street.

That feeling remains unchanged for women today, she said.

“There are only a few places in the world where I feel completely safe to be myself.”

“We are trying to change that,” she added.

“I don’t think that the performance alone can do that. But art has the power to bring you something which maybe you didn’t even know existed.”

The emphasis in Hoxha and Mitic’s adaptation on the universal relevance of the protagonists’ concerns extends as far as their costumes.

The characters dress in black leather and ankle boots — a uniform that could belong to any army in the world.

Just as Hecuba could be any grieving mother on the planet.

It’s a story about women and war “in any part of the world, in any century, in any culture, in any religion”, said Mitic.

“This is the story that Euripides wrote centuries ago, but actually we see repetition of the same model during the war, after the war — raping, criminals, everything.

“What we see in this play, we really see today (in) Ukraine or Gaza, or (in) Kosovo or Bosnia” or wherever conflict is occurring including Somalia and Sudan, Mitic said.

After an hour in front of a packed hall, the voices combine, hoping for another future: “Sometimes to live is to resist,” they say.

© 2024 AFP

Media: KTV
Story Title: Zëra të padëgjuar: “Gratë e Trojës” zërojnë rrëfimin e dhunimeve në luftë
Date: November 10, 2024
Link: https://www.koha.net/shtojca-kulture/zera-te-padegjuar-grate-e-trojes-zerojne-rrefimin-e-dhunimeve-ne-lufte

By: Col Mehmeti

The dead are no longer affected, for fear, agony, and suffering weigh heavily on those who have survived. In a marked departure from Euripides’ original work, where the curtains fall on wail and tragedy, this performance brings hope through the interspersing of moments of humor.

Today, writing anti-war appeals may seem like the easiest thing to do. Unfortunately, there are times when it’s damn hard to draw the line between single-minded anger and bloodshed for moral capital, pretense for moral righteousness, or selfish self-affirmation. However, when calls against war are raised on the foundations of human suffering amidst the wreckage, screams, and sorrowful wails, great art permeates the human conscience deeply. Against the backdrop of relentless wars that plagued 5th-century Greece, Euripides gave voice to the shattered inner worlds of the unfortunate women and the all-encompassing nightmare of war.

Created in the distant year of 415 BCE, the play Trojan Women does not bring forth the heroic battlegrounds of Troy, the bold assaults on its walls and ramparts, the intrigues of the Gods, or the schemes of warring factions. Instead, Hecuba, Cassandra, Andromache, Helen, and the chorus of grief-stricken women emerge as the tragic heroines in the aftermath of a devastating war. Winners and losers alike stand before the heap of the dead, among whom are their dearest ones, and all that extinguished world that seems as though it never existed. Through his drama, Euripides breathed new life into the Homeric past, even its darkest side, to allude to the grim and terrifying present, where the Greek city-states, mired in wars with one another, were carving themselves an epitaph of shame.

Where Euripides only reluctantly showed any resistance to the Gods for their disregard, this performance from Prishtina, full of courage and without a trace of fear, boldly declares that religion itself is a factory of violence. The ruined world of Troy has victims on both sides, but the dead are no longer touched, for fear, agony, and suffering weigh most heavily on those who have survived.

Ancient Troy, Modern Troy

Euripides’ anti-war work carries timeless and universal resonances, but its reinvention with new language, fresh voices, and contemporary touches is a powerful invitation to sit, much like the ancient Athenian theatergoers during the Dionysian festival, and experience Euripides’ latest production. Such sensations are also embodied in the theatrical performance “Women of Troy”, co-directed by Zana Hoxha and Maja Mitić, which for the second consecutive year was presented at the Dodona Theatre in Prishtina. Originating from a collaborative creative process between Prishtina and Belgrade, the two-night performance, held on November 5th and 6th, highlighted an intricate performance by the artists of the Artpolis ensemble and their colleagues from Serbia.

As early as 1965, Sartre made an adaptation of this ever-relevant drama, which served as a powerful protest against the war in Algeria. Recently, writer and actor Shpëtim Selmani took on this challenging endeavor, infusing it with a local flavor while maintaining a universal resonance. His text preserves the original framework with gods and mortals, yet its dramatic update reverberates widely in the realities of our time.

Through the voices of female characters trapped in their own misery – like the sorrowful Hecuba, the unfortunate Andromache, the doomed Cassandra, and the defiant Helen – he unravels the unceasing pain of Kosovo, with the screams, tears, and suffering of the 20,000 women who were victims of sexual violence during the war.

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” said Tolstoy, with which he opens his novel on the psychological unraveling of his modern heroine, Anna Karenina. These words could somewhat be adapted here to say that every human pain has a unique mark, one that requires effort to grasp the inner world of disintegration and psychological ruin, which often goes unnoticed.

While the στιχομυθία (stichomythia) of the Euripidean original speaks in modern language, it simultaneously gains strength against war and its atrocities. This is most clearly expressed through Selmani’s monologues (who is also part of the cast). The intertwining of two different eras is masterfully balanced through the breaking of the “fourth wall” and occasional modern references: “The whole world is our ancient Troy and your modern Troy. Thousands of horses, not made of wood, but of steel… flying. Iron Pegasi dropping bombs here and there.”

The living suffer

Beyond its technical aspects, the performance as an undertaking is far more demanding than one might expect. In addition to the challenges of a still difficult neighborhood filled with grudges, prejudices, and hostilities, “The Women of Troy” also faced an additional issue. Would the two languages of the performance, Albanian and Serbian, complement each other? As a bilingual production, the work of directors Zana Hoxha and Maja Mitić deserves nothing but praise. The bilingualism is so seamlessly integrated through the interaction of a carefully chosen cast, including Maja Mitić, Shpëtim Selmani, Semira Latifi, Branka Stojković, Qëndresa Kajtazi, Labinot Raci, and Aleksandar Stoimenovski. Therefore, it can be freely said that neither the local audience nor the foreign one could notice any inconsistency.

There are two scenographic details that truly deserve recognition: in the opening scene, sea waves are improvised, from which Poseidon emerges, mourning the fall of Troy. Combined with the sound effects of the roaring sea waves, this creates a profound sense of utter hopelessness in the face of a merciless and mute providence that has abandoned the mortals. Throughout the performance, periodically, pendants appear suspended in the air, an element that aligns with the bitter and anguished faces of the unfortunate women, emphasizing the fragility of their lives. In truth, these are marvelous directorial strategies that use such elements to highlight the heroic efforts of the women against the all-powerful forces.

In the original Greek, almost every declamation of the female characters contains bursts of pain and sorrow (in the original, there are countless instances of wailing sounds such as aiaí aiaí, ottototototoí, ió ió, aiaí, and é é, which, in Euripides’ time, were realistic evocations from daily life). While the agony of these tragic women lingers in the air, the performance as a whole is a beautiful interplay between striking dialogues, a simple yet captivating set, and music that captures the contrasting and ever-changing states of the characters.

It is a blend of Euripidean verses with entirely modern evocations, highlighting the tragic fate of the 20,000 women who were victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo. This mental and physical juxtaposition is best expressed by Andromache: “They forced me to live.”

It often happens, especially in moments of agony that deep existential bursts emerge: “Only the dead do not feel pain.” Where Euripides hesitantly expressed any opposition to the gods for their disregard, this performance from Prishtina, full of courage and without a trace of fear, boldly declares that religion itself is a factory of violence. The shattered world of Troy has victims on both sides, but the dead are no longer affected, as fear, agony, and suffering weigh most heavily on those who have survived.

With a notable departure from Euripides’ original work, where the curtains fall with wails and tragedy, this performance brings hope through the insertion of moments of humor. This is another example of breaking the “fourth wall,” where the author and actor, Shpëtim Selmani, revives a scene reminiscent of Woody Allen’s “Deconstructing Harry”: out of nowhere, he comes face to face with his real-life characters, full of quirks, who complain about the fates he has assigned to them. Therefore, where there is hope, there is life!

Media: Kallxo.com
Story Title: Shfaqja ‘Gratë e Trojës’, thirrjet shqip e serbisht që shkundën skenën e “Dodonës” në kërkim të paqes
Date: November 7, 2024
Link: https://kallxo.com/kulture/shfaqja-grate-e-trojes-thirrjet-shqip-e-serbisht-qe-shkunden-skenen-e-dodones-ne-kerkim-te-paqes/

By: Isa Vatovci

The most tragic story of the conquest and destruction of ancient Troy is reflected in the captivity of the Trojan women by the Greeks; Queen Hecuba, Cassandra, Polyxena and Andromache. Immortalized with the tragedy “The Women of Troy”, written by Euripides, after the end of Troy they are separated from the kings of the Greek princes as spoils of war-captives. This painful story has served the Center for Arts and Communities, “Artpolis” and a group of artists from Belgrade (Serbia) to create theater performance “Women of Troy”, showing that pain and the Trojan reality continues to live even in our time.

With dramaturgy and direction by Zana Hoxha and Maja Mitić, and with a contemporary text by Shpëtim Selmani, “Women of Troy” was shown on Tuesday 05.11.2024, at the “Dodona” Theater in Prishtina. Staged by Albanian and Serbian actors, “Women of Troy” revealed the suffering of women after the war, highlighting the violence and brutality towards them. The special feature of the show is that the Albanian actors speak Albanian, while the Serbian ones speak Serbian, throughout the show, subtitled in English. The show brings, through a feminist approach, the sensitivity and resistance of women in the face of the terror of war, from ancient Greece to the present day, where wars are the havoc The Trojan women travel back in time, re-enacting the tragedy of women who experienced the last war in Kosovo, the war in Gaza, Ukraine, and more.

The play calls for peace and an end to conflicts in the world, a call that received applause from the audience.

“Troy, a metaphor for today’s crimes”

The Serbian actress, Maja Mitiq, told KALLXO.com that “Women of Troy” talks about the war, which is currently happening in Gaza or Somalia, or the war during the 90s in the Balkans, in the former Yugoslavia. She says that art must win in the face of war. “I feel that art must always win, not war and not murder, rape, who knows how many artists these days from Gaza or Ukraine who are immigrants. We think about these people, they are from the war, they are immigrants, and that’s why I ask the screenwriter, why didn’t you include some gods from Greek mythology that could protect them a little bit, maybe we could stop these wars that are happening” – says Mitiq, who is also the co-director of the show, “Women of Troy”.

Mitiq says that “Women of Troy” will be presented on November 22 and 23 (2024) at the Center for Cultural Decontamination in Belgrade. According to her, it is difficult to bring war narratives through art. But, as he says, they are important topics for changing society. “I usually choose topics that are important for changing society, because I believe that I can make a difference,” Mitiq said.

Actor Shpëtim Selmani, who has dramatized the modern text of the play, told KALLXO.com that the purpose of the play is to show that Troy still exists today. “The idea of ​​the play is to show that the suffering of women still exists, that today Troy still exists, in the various places where there are wars, stories that are similar to ancient Greek tragedies, we rely on the work of Euripides, ‘Women of Troy’, we have an interweaving with current conflicts and we connected the situations” – he said.

The challenge of bilingualism

Director Zana Hoxha told KALLXO.com that the show “Women of Troy” is the result of a long process of work. “It has not been easy, almost a year and a half, it is one of the most difficult processes I have done in my life,” she said. Hoxha added that even though the show is based on one of the Greek tragedies, it speaks about today’s reality.

“I didn’t want to run away from what’s happening, I couldn’t make ‘Women of Troy’ without updating it, without giving a part of Kosovo, Gaza, and what’s happening in the world today” – said Hoxha.

But, a challenge for her, it was the realism of a play where the Albanian actors speak Albanian, while the Serbian actors speak Serbian, throughout the play. But, thanks to her, this is a historic step. “Obviously, it has been challenging to work in two languages ​​because none of the actors know the Serbian language, nor the Serbian actors the Albanian language. Only I know both languages ​​and sometimes I gave the indications in all three languages, Albanian, English, Serbian” – she said.

The show “Women of Troy”, according to director Hoxha, will be shown in Belgrade, Serbia, on November 22 and 23 (2024). Meanwhile, director Hoxha has already received an invitation to participate in Italy for the next year (2025).

“Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again”, written by Alice Birch and directed by Zana Hoxha, is a sharp, witty, and profound examination of what it means to be a woman, performed by an all-female cast including Natalia May, Xixi Xiao, Tanaka Mpofu, and Olive McHugh.

Our post-apocalyptic world designed by Grace Rumsey, will reimagine the previous rules and conventions that brought our society to an end. Asking what’s stopping us from doing something truly radical to save our future? Revolutionize the language. Revolutionize the world. Revolutionize the work. Revolutionize the body. Galvanise.

“Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again”, had its premiere at the Greenhouse Festival, London on 5th of September. Already it had four presentations, including on 28th of September, 2024 on FemArt Festival 12th edition.

Writer: Alice Birch       

Director: Zana Hoxha     

Cast: Olive McHugh, Tanaka Mpofu, Xixi Xiao, Natalia May                                     

Set and Costume Designer: Grace Rumsey             

Lighting Designer: Ghoti Fisher                              

Sound Designer: Aidan Gibson                        

Movement Director: Kristin Fredrickson                    

Instrument Consultant: Julia Deng Hanzu                     

Stage Manager: Ace Turner

Set and Costume Assistant: Xiaomin Fan

Production: LAMDA and Orange Tree Theatre

Here you can find theatre reviews of “Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.”:

By Simon Jenner: https://fringereview.co.uk/review/fringereview-uk/2024/greenhouse-festival-lamda-festival-new-directors-in-association-with-orange-tree/

By Shqipe Malushi: https://femart-ks.com/revolt-she-said-revolt-again/

By Gili Hoxhaj: https://femart-ks.com/revolt-she-said-revolt-again-opened-new-paths-for-action-through-theater/

By: Shqipe Malushi

Day 4, FemArt 12 Festival
September 28, 2024 | 21:00-22:10 | Oda Theater, Prishtina

Written by: Alice Birch | Directed by: Zana Hoxha | Cast: Olive McHugh, Tanaka Mpofu, Xixi Xiao, Natalia May
Produced by: London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts (LAMDA)

On September 28th, 2024, Zana Hoxha brought Alice Birch’s “Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again” to Kosovo’s Oda Theater during the FemArt 12 Festival. The play, recently premiered at London’s Orange Tree Theater, was produced by LAMDA and captivated the Prishtina audience, with some attendees sitting on the floor due to the overflow. Among the crowd was the British Ambassador, who personally congratulated the director and cast.

“Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again” challenges traditional ideas of how women should behave, using a series of short, provocative scenes to question language, relationships, work, and everyday norms. Alice Birch’s writing deconstructs these societal expectations, reimagining them in bold ways. Hoxha’s direction takes this further by turning familiar actions and words on their heads, from the symbolism of marriage proposals to rethinking motherhood, aging, and love.

The play reflects the notion that “well-behaved women seldom make history” and highlights the restrictive language that has controlled women for centuries. Zana Hoxha emphasizes this, allowing her actresses to explore words and actions in ways that disrupt conventional theater. The women, played by McHugh, Mpofu, Xiao, and May, present a range of emotions, often raw and uncomfortable, leading the audience to reflect on deeply embedded societal limitations. One striking scene involving a woman and a broken watermelon pushes boundaries of intimacy and self-exploration, provoking the audience to confront their own reservations about freedom.

The play is structured in three parts, each experimenting with different storytelling techniques. In one particularly memorable scene, four women from different generations silently face the audience, representing the struggles women endure across time. This moment, like much of the play, blurs the line between performer and character, making the audience feel engaged in the unfolding experience.

Zana Hoxha’s innovative direction encouraged the actresses to break traditional theater norms, making a strong statement that patriarchy is not an unchangeable structure but a societal construct that can be dismantled. Beyond gender, the play explores deeper themes of choice, freedom, power, and control.

The performance concluded with a standing ovation, as the actors raised banners above their heads, inviting the audience to join in shouting “WE HAVE A CHOICE.” Through Zana Hoxha’s bold approach, the audience witnessed the power of women pushing boundaries, urging everyone to reflect and take part in challenging societal norms. The performance leaves lingering questions for those accustomed to traditional theater: Have we ever allowed ourselves such complete freedom, to cast off societal constraints?

By: Gili Hoxhaj

In rebellion, mere thought isn’t enough—at least not for the women of the 21st century. That’s why the show titled “Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again.” gives voice to this need. With a script by Alice Birch and directed by Zana Hoxha, the production from England featured a cast of actresses who showcased the uniqueness of their performances. It captivated and engaged the audience right in the heart of Pristina, at the “ODA” theater, as part of the 12th edition of FemArt. The director incorporated a crown for those entering to see the show, reflecting the spirit of the place from which it originated. Zana Hoxha returned to Kosovo with a production unlike anything she had created in her long career as an activist and director. She taught us to rebel and to engage with our rebellion in a modern way.

Actress Tanaka Mpofu began by addressing one of the girls in the audience with a compliment about her earrings and asking where she found them, establishing an immediate intimacy on stage. This created interaction with many in the audience, and she playfully asked, “Will you vote for me?” She received a few “yeses.” As an actress, her performance garnered many more “yeses” for the energy she brought to the stage and her disregard for the situations around her. She skillfully played with these dynamics, placing other characters into the mix and guiding them through dilemmas to spark debate. A scene exploring love and sexuality between two characters followed, illustrating various ways to express and desire one another. Tanaka Mpofu mentioned that all her power in the performance was inspired by the director’s passion. “I like works that have a purpose behind them. I am encouraged by Zana’s passion for feminism and for fighting for women’s empowerment. Her invitation to us in Kosovo was very emotional. The people here are very open and welcoming, and everything felt easy,” she said immediately after the show.

The actresses delivered their messages with a calm tone. The smell of watermelon scattered across the floor will always be linked to this performance. It served as a method of protest—pieces of watermelon that were shared and then savored. The actresses, while changing roles, embodied sensuality and expressed the need for better economic lives and freedom at work, for inclusion and power in politics, and for acceptance while being assured they are made for something greater. Through dialogues about love, they showed there are many ways to appreciate and tell someone you love them. Marriage was discussed in various contexts—as a means of acceptance and often rejection. The show conveyed concerns of the past century while speaking about women of this century, who find themselves navigating home life, public life, family, and romantic relationships, all seeking a little more time for themselves.

Olive McHugh, Tanaka Mpofu, Xixi Xiao, and Natalia May each brought unique qualities that complemented each other, drawing out the best in one another. The production is a collaboration between LAMDA and Orange Tree Theatre, created by the director during her master’s studies in England and previously presented at the GreenHouse festival. As an innovative and intensely engaging performance, it also made its way to FemArt. Comedic situations were abundant, teaching us that rebellion can occur without raising one’s voice, but by constantly discussing what belongs to us. It opens up space for new feminist debates. It transforms themes and prompts questions in an environment where women speak for themselves. Alice Birch’s language was placed by director Zana Hoxha in a context that speaks to everyone, particularly relevant to the present time—with courage. When she first held the text in her hands, director Hoxha expressed her shock.

“I was impressed by how it deconstructed language, behaviors, and other socio-cultural factors in constructing femininity,” she remarked. “The performance resonated with my artistic and activist methods. Birch challenged patriarchal oppression and posed the fundamental question: ‘What prevents us from doing something truly radical to change that?’ (Birch, 2016). This reflected my commitment to fostering critical thought and opening pathways for action through theater,” Zana Hoxha emphasized. She thoroughly explored the text and narrative, enriching them further with her extensive experience in feminist art. Even if you didn’t hear a single word from actress Olive McHugh, her eyes conveyed the anguish of longing to hear something kind from her mother. She possessed a strong maternal instinct but had an absent childhood. As she spoke with her eyes, she yearned for the moment in a typical dining scene with a vase of flowers and bread on a table. It was a deep dive into familial baggage and a tangled family drama whose consequences are inherited. McHugh shared that since reading the script, she felt a special energy in the room and felt very secure exploring the characters. “Oh, I love Zana since my first day in London. I had a wonderful connection with her, and when she told me I needed to come to Kosovo, I couldn’t believe I would be here to perform this show. The energy of FemArt is amazing; the people who come here, even those who aren’t actors, have a very special energy. I will always remember my time here,” said actress Olive McHugh. The audience’s intensive, energetic, and provocative responses shaped the flow of the performance. When actress Xixi Xiao addressed someone in the audience, asking which rights the team needed more rest and other requests related to work life, she awaited a response and eventually received one. In another instance, a delay led her to give up on getting an answer. “Very slowly, I don’t have time for this,” she stated as she returned to the performance with conviction. She conveyed a message that everyone should respect their own time, the time of the performance, and that of the audience.

“I made small revisions to the text to make it more significant for a post-apocalyptic theme and a feminist approach. I brought in my previous knowledge of feminist theory and prior work, focusing on combating cultural narratives that undermine women (Butler, 1990). The text was a living skeleton from which the actors could create complex performances and allowed for deep exploration,” Zana further highlighted. For her, the great protest was the initial idea of this performance—a protest against the systems and values that lead to the collapse of societies and ecologies. The stage was a destroyed world, remnants of patriarchal structures; it was based on eco-feminist theories linking the exploitation of nature with the oppression of women. Director and playwright Shqipe Malushi stated that this was a daring and experimental theatrical show that challenges traditional ideas about how women should behave. “Zana Hoxha embraced this sense of disruption, encouraging the actresses to break the conventional rules of theater,” she remarked after the performance. In collaboration with set and costume designer Grace Rumsey, Hoxha worked intensively, promoting a sustainable practice that shows environmental awareness in theater by using recycled costumes. Even within the context of the stage and costumes, an important aspect was touched upon. On a stage made entirely of watermelon juice, the actresses gathered and cleaned the stage during the performance—preparing for their next act. Another form of awareness in theater came as the director joined the team in resetting the stage for the next act. Zana and her team penetrated the space with a creative vision—one that elevates the call for their choices. Choices made with great courage!

Simon Jenner wrote a review of Zana Hoxha’s play Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again, published on fringereview.co.uk.

You can read his review below:

Alice Birch – Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again

Alice Birch’s 2014 RSC play delivers its title. Director Zana Hoxha takes some directions literally and has them voiced. Above all Birch’s exhortation not to be well-behaved. It’s a revolutionary open text with dynamic exceptions and inflammatory potential. Hoxha seizes on this, alters details and confirms its freshness with a few tweaks.

With Hoxha ‘bad behaviour’ extends to Birch”s text as she cuts the last two pages: a brief Act Four where four women commune on the difficulty of the struggle. Instead Revolt concludes in the previous monologue delivered by Natalie May: a self-immolatory one ending abruptly in an act. Hoxha goes for theatricality all through, stripping out provisional hope. In her production, there’s even less of it than Birch allowed. We glimpse a dystopic future where just a few women cling on.

Tanaka Mpofu also sings; there’s an improv opening. And despite Birch’s direction of no set, Grace Rumsey’s one of blue-green sea-wrack portends world-ending drek scurfed round. Evocative costume changes add texture and signal scene-changes.

A water melon’s detritus liquifies a shopping aisle whilst (not literally) a punter strips off, questions shop-floor managers’ motives: their misogynistic language is transformed. There’s much floor mopping.

If Birch was writing this a few years later she might have opted for the gender fluidity and exclusion of male actors as here. It works memorably (with May and Mpofu for instance in the opening anti-seduction scene). When performative male roles are indicated through language, they’re reclaimed as different levels of oppression women experience: in structural relationships from sex to work.

Patriarchy extends everywhere but in the opening section language (even “penis”) is appropriated as possession, here subverted by Birch as the female or ‘possessed’ role takes power, through language. It’s done with delicious humour and (considering later scenes) optimism.

In work scenes that structure is challenged: three employees want Monday off where the employer (Xixi Xiao in whip-crack mode) asserts they own the faces, even smiles of their employees.

Hoxha’s sheer theatricality works even if some subtlety is jettisoned with (say) Act Four’s rapprochement excised. Revolt already plays with open form – and subverts traditional scenes with named roles. (Ghoti Fisher’s lighting tracks performances with versatility.)

This works well in a formalised three hander. Olive McHugh often delivers speeches of affect and is central here. Where Xiao remains almost mute, May growls in a turban. In a Chekhovian-looking tea party a mother furiously confronts her own mother’s implacable coldness; the granddaughter utters “nightingale” and stray words. However these two unite against the more vociferous middle generation in an astonishing act (one Birch prescribed elsewhere in different guises too, faithfully followed).

Hoxha keeps pace limber, with an exuberantly gifted cast. There have been virtuosic deliveries of some monologues: Hoxha’s team refuse such easy aplomb and applause. A few words are substituted like “genocide”. It fits this even chillier climate.

Revolt has shifted here, oppression internalised. Whilst non-specific around gender, the performative element underscores how post #MeToo feminism has adopted self-interrogative critiques that blow apart even the binaries of Revolt.

A reaffirmation of Birch’s brilliance, not withstanding cuts. An essential update on the struggle, Hoxha’s Revolt hurls defiance in the face of despair.

Olive McHugh Tanaka Mpofu Xixi Xiao Natalia May

Voice Actors : Gloria Olajide, Alex Holliday, Diego Zozaya , James Walsh, Robert Furey, Samuel Ferrer

Writer Alice Birch Director Zana Hxoha Set and Costume Designer Grace Rumsey Lighting Designer Ghoti Fisher Sound Designer Aidan Gibson Movement Director Kristin Fredrickson Instrument Consultant Julia Deng Hanzu Stage Manager Ace Turner Set and Costume Assistant Xiaomin Fan

Source: https://fringereview.co.uk/review/fringereview-uk/2024/greenhouse-festival-lamda-festival-new-directors-in-association-with-orange-tree/

Media: KTV
Story title: “Tatuazhi i trëndafilit” nëpër ngjyrat e jetës gjen dashurinë
Date: July 16, 2023
Linku: https://www.koha.net/shtojca-kulture/385374/tatuazhi-i-trendafilit-neper-ngjyrat-e-jetes-gjen-dashurine/?fbclid=IwAR1AE5vB0X1DvT8hI0eB13b05LUjdrYBXisc651t3oZRxdvmJ2HT0Cmkstc

By: Fisnik Minci

It has arrived as it was intended: a passionate tale of superstitions, promises and the possibility of love and passion after a broken heart. With an interactive approach with the public on the “black box” stage located in the Bosnian Cultural Center in Prizren, the well-known drama of Tennessee Williams, staged under the direction of Zana Hoxha, comes with the call to open the heart and find hope even where it is not expected.

The romantic comedy “Rose Tattoo” by the author Tennessee Williams, which remains a symbol of love, sex, emotional vulnerability and reproduction, was staged by the city theater “Bekim Fehmiu” thanks to the commitment of the director Zana Hoxha. The drama was performed on the ‘black box’ stage located in the Bosnian Cultural Center, integrating the audience into the game, who at the end of the show expressed their gratitude for the almost two-hour performance of the actors Aurita Agushi, Rifat Smani, Liridona Shehu, Alban Krasniqi, Xhevdet Doda, Beslidje Bytyqi, Valmira Hoti and Zana Duraku.

This drama is set in a small Sicilian-American community. There, Serafina delle Rose, played by the actress Aurita Agushi, is a fiery and passionate woman and mother, who, after the murder of the smuggler’s husband, shuts herself off from life and love. In the meantime, she often collides with her circle, while her daughter Rosa also faces the barrier set by her.

But the situation changes, when by chance a truck driver arrives at Serafina’s house.

The play, according to the description given by the city theater, is a passionate tale of superstitions, promises and the possibility of love and passion after a broken heart. In doing so, it offers a witty and interactive comedy with the audience, while reminding them to open their hearts and find hope where they least expect it. It also addresses the theme of sexual repression as a strong and ongoing theme, while turning her story into one of passion, romance and hope.

For the actress Aurita Agushi, this project marked the next collaboration with the theater “Bekim Fehmiu” in Prizren. She described the process of working with the resident actors as good, while also providing details about the challenges in interpreting her role.

“It was also very easy. I know the part very well, even Tennessee Williams is one of my favorite authors. This work on the Italian accent has been a bit challenging, I want to concentrate more on that. Even if I analyze the character of Serafina a little more closely, because she is a complex, multidimensional character, who varies throughout the performance, the tragedy that happened to her, then she recovers the love, prejudices and judgments that the circle makes of her, even here it is like I stopped and made a closer analysis and I believe that together with Zana, the director, with my colleagues, especially with Rifat (Smani), my partner on stage, we worked very closely and I believe that we did a very good job good”, said Agushi.

Xhevdet Doda, who played the role of Father De Leo, assessed that the environment created with the “black box” brought him closer to the public and at the same time expressed his satisfaction with the teamwork in this project.

“Satisfied with the performance of my role. It is a role that I have tried to give some artistic ‘sweetness’, of course with the suggestions of the director. I am very satisfied with the team, I am very happy for this premiere and I hope that this show will find its way to our audience”, said Doda.

The director Zana Hoxha has assessed that it is a project worked on with mutual love, where as a result the realization has progressed easily and with good energy.

“And almost like the show that gives a certain reality a little more rosy, a little different, more optimistic, and it was a kind of disappointment I would say, because we had to work in the original building of the Prizren theater and due to the renovation we decided here. But everything is good when it ends well, like tonight’s show that started with more dramatic moments then developed, the other colors of life came to the fore, because life has ups and downs, there are challenges but there is also a lot of love if we want to see “, said Hoxha.

University professor, director and playwright Fadil Hysaj was also present in the audience, who appreciated the acting of the actors, the work of the director and the reaction of the public.

“Let’s start with the actors, really an extremely beautiful play, a brilliant director, Zana Hoxha, a reading of a dramaturgical masterpiece by Tennesee Williams that in an almost authorial sense decomposed into one dimension, that a deep drama of a woman transforms, it gives life, it turns the comedy into a kind of liberation that conveys it, which we need. It is understood that the fight against evil, against suffering begins and is won within oneself, not outside oneself. It is also a very beautiful show, built with finesse, with a brilliant acting that I think is rare as such and I wish that it will have a long life on stage and that many, many people will see it”, said Hysaj.

This performance is the third premiere after the beginning of the renovation of the theater building. The first premiere was the show “Fausti”, a co-production between the “Bekim Fehmiu” Theater, the National Theater of Kosovo and the Gjilan Theater. While the second premiere was the play for children “Aphrodite again at school”. This year, the “Bekim Fehmiu” theater has performed the first cycle of staged readings of contemporary Kosovar drama.