New Musical About Serbian Leader Causes Mixed Reactions in Kosovo

This week, a new musical staged in Kosovo has caused upset among some in the nation.

According to a report in The Guardian, the play, titled Lift: Slobodan Show, details the era of former Serbian leader Slobodan Miloševic, whose brutal regime against the separatist Albanian population of Kosovo in the late 90's resulted in the deaths of an estimated 10,000 people.

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority denounced the play citing the nation's continued efforts to reckon with the effects of Miloševic's reign and the brutal Balkan conflict waged in the country just 20 years ago.

Independent analyst Shkelzen Maliqi wrote in the newspaper Express of the play: "I do not intend to see the show. I would not like to listen to the text with quotes from Slobo."

Following the controversy, the show's director Nenad Todorovic explained that "the theme [of the play] is Miloševic because he is the last Serbian taboo".

According to the report the play did receive a positive reception from a large portion of the audience, who gave the show an extended ovation. Others angrily left the play before the end.