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Swiss Hamlet in Kosova by Jeton Neziraj
Im Dezember 2005 gastierte die Theatergruppe von Markus Zohner (Lugano) in Prishtina am dortigen CCTD.
Über das Gastspiel berichtet Jeton Neziraj, selbst Autor von Kinderstücken und zahlreichen theoretischen Texten zum zeitgenössischen Theater für junges Publikum und derzeitiger Leiter von MULTIMEDIA / CCTD.

"Markus Zohner Theatre Campagnie, during the two week stay in Kosova, performed in three towns of Kosova with the theatre show Ha!Hamlet and did master classes with a group of young kosovar actors. These activities are part of a common longterm project between Markus Zohner Theatre Compagnie and MULTIMEDIA/CCTD, that will continue in the forthcoming
years.
One of the main priorities of MULTIMEDIA/CCTD, since its establishment, was to create a chain of cooperation with theatre companies and organizations from all around the world in order to bring new theatrical experiences and trends of contemporary theatre in Kosova. According to this context, the cooperation with Markus Zohner Theatre Campagnie from Switzerland is one of MULTIMEDIA/CCTD most ambitious projects.
The hardship of Kosovar theatre, with its infrastructure and management, is giving disastrous consequences for the future of kosovar theatre and theatre artists. Theatres reduced budget and no stimulation of support for independent theatres and bad management of those few institutional theatre and many other factors have brought the Kosovar theatre to a critical point. The consequences are already there: except for the opening nights, the theatres are usually empty. Apart of these "technical" problems, the most frightful element is the aesthetic and the content of these theatre shows that are produced in Kosova. Lacking the contact with the development of contemporary theatre all over the world and lacking the theatrical exchange, Kosovar theatre, with very few exceptions, is continuing to cultivate an outdated approach, which is not attractive to the today's audience. The space for experimenting with theatre is very limited. As an aftermath of all this, very rarely do kosovar theatre shows perform in international theatre festivals. On the other hand, visits of foreign theatre companies are limited too. Many foreign theatre companies hesitate to come to Kosova because of its reputation with the ethnical conflict of 1999. Also the infrastructure of kosovar theatre doesn't fulfill the needs of many international theatre companies. But, above all this the lack of budget is the main obstacle for inviting foreign theatre companies. There are very few foreign theatre companies that are willing to cover their own expenses for their trip and performance in Kosova.
Potential donators (mainly international) never cover more than travel expenses or only the fees for the actors of the troupe. While, what looked from the outside as "minimal" expense, in Kosova is usually a real obstacle. In a capital as Prishtina with only two theatres that are financed by public funds and other two private theatres, is extremely hard to find funds to cover minimal expenses such as accommodation or food for guest theatre companies (foreign). It may look absurd but 500 euro could be the main obstacle to organize in Kosova a tour of an excellent foreign theatre show.

With all these challenges, these few Kosovar theatre, including those few organizations that deal with theatre, usually avoid such projects.
These were the challenges that MULTIMEDIA/CCTD had when we started to make serious plans to initiate the cooperation with Markus Zohner Theatre Compagnie. However, thanks to the reciprocal readiness and thanks to our sponsors, the first phase of this cooperation has been realized. According to the media reports, it has been realized successfully.

The presentation of Ha!Hamlet in Kosova, with actors Markus Zohner and Patrizia Barburian, is certainly considered, by the community of artist and the wider public, as an important theatrical event.
There are two main reasons why MULTIMEDIA/CCTD chose from all the other Markus Zohner Theatre Campagnie productions the show Ha!Hamlet. First of all, the idea that the great Shakespeare tragedy is played only by two actors in different languages. Second, the political circumstances in Kosova seemed appropriate to have the drama of the Prince of Denmark. The war of Kosova is continuing to haunt the people of Kosova with the idea of revenge.

Before the opening, we organized a press conference. I must say that the interest of media for this theatre show was exceptional from the beginning. The main Kosovar television station (RTK - Radio Television of Kosova) advertised for days about the show. Each newspapers or magazines wrote two ore more articles before and after the show.
The premiere of Ha!Hamlet in the National Theatre in Prishtina (December 14th 2005) had a big number of audience. Regardless of the language barrier, the show communicated with the audience and the audience liked it, especially the artistic community. Ha!Hamlet, according to some comments, was a good lesson for many Kosovar artists and a proof that to do theatre, first of all, you need to be original. The media reaction for the show was positive. All daily papers wrote positively praising the approach and the energy of the two actors. For us, as organizers of Ha!Hamlet in Kosova, there were two main goals achieved. First: theatre was packed and that doesn't happen very often in the National Theatre in Prishtina; second: the audience loved the show. Let me mention in this case that theatre artists and theatre students could watch the show for free.
In the beautiful town of Prizren we had to deal with the unheated theatre. The manager of the theatre told us that to heat the theatre they need 100 liters of gas. With all these "technical" problems we insisted to continue with the performance. A theatre show in Prizren could also have a symbolic meaning. Prizren, known for its huge history, today is one of the most multi-ethnical towns not only in Kosova but also probably in the whole region. Prizren is also known as the "birthplace" of Kosovar theatre. The first Kosovar theatre troupe is known to be established in Prizren right after the Second World War. While today Prizren is one of the towns with very little cultural activities. The Cultural House, which has a big theatre, is now used only for the activities of amateur theatre troupes of the town. The coming of Ha!Hamlet in Prizren, after the sensational media presentation in Prishtina, had gotten the interest of the theatre audience in Prizren which for a long time haven¹t seen a good theatre performance realized by professionals. I must say that in Prizren we had an extraordinary audience, including the community of intellectuals. The reaction of the audience as the show ended was amazing. Of of the daily papers wrote the article about the performance in Prizren with the headline: "Ha!Hamlet shake off the dust of the Cultural House of Prizren".
In a town such as Prizren, where the cultural activities are very poor, the presentation of Ha!Hamlet doubtlessly was of big importance.
The third show was performed in Kaçanik. Again, troubles with the heating. Actually, Kacanik was completely without power in the last 24 hours. This happened as a collective damage by Electro-energetic Corporation of Kosova (KEK), which cut the power because many of the citizens didn't pay their bills. It was impossible to heat the gigantic room of The Cultural Home (built in the time of communism) with the heaters that we were trying to provide. In the meantime our hosts found gas for the power generators. The generator provided the power but not the heat for the room where the show would perform. Ibush Vishi and Ahmet Krasniqi from the Department of Culture in the municipality of Kacanik were under e big pressure while we were feeling very bad for the situation.
We were facing the challenge whether to do Ha!Hamlet or not. Markus and Patrizia, under the light of a candle, have already started to do their make up. Few minutes before 19:00 the audience came. More that we were expecting. Over 200 people, under terrible circumstances created by the coldness, watched the show attentively. The cold has already gotten into Markus and Patrizia's bones. And, while the ovation of the audience was filling the room by the end of the show, to myself i was saying to KEK "you can kiss our backs!" The show was a symbolic victory of theatre.
Master classes with the actors took part in the National Theatre in Prishtina in 5 sessions consisted of 3 or more hours with a group of 9 young actors. The sessions were led by Markus. The work with the actors was doubtlessly valuable and helpful for the the next phase of the project that will take part in 2006. In a way, these master classes were a form of audition for the young actors that are supposed to be casted for the swiss kosovar theatre performance. The actors that participated in these master classes were extremely satisfied with the working method that Markus was using. Some of them were thinking that these master classes brought them more benefits than the studies they finished in the Faculty of Arts.

In the end: the cooperation initiated between Markus Zohner Theatre Campagnie and MULTIMEDIA/CCTD, or the initiated swiss­kosovar cooperation, as the media wished to call it, doubtlessly brought the hope, that things in Kosova have started to move towards the right direction.
The financial and technical difficulties were not inevitable. In this case we must thank Markus Zohner Theatre Campaigne for encouraging us with the determination that this project has to be completed. And, to conclude: the agreement for the cooperation in the future was fixed with a symbolic act: giving the "besa" ­ the albanian word ­ to each other.
When Markus asked me what "besa" means, I explained shortly: the promises that cannot be broken in other circumstances except death..." (Jeton Neziraj)

Kontakt
Center for Children's Theatre Development (CCTD)
Rr. Garinaldi, Hyrja 5, Kati III Nr. 12 10000
Prishtina Kosova - UNMIK
Tel.: +381 38 229 002
Mob.: + 377 (0)44 186 393 / (0)44 225 206
Mail: info@cctdkosova.com
www.cctdkosova.com

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