Nobel Prize Winner Elfriede Jelinek's BAMBILAND to Debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

ZOO Southside will present the UK premiere of Bambiland, a compelling adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning author Elfriede Jelinek's work, translated by Lilian M. Banks. This solo performance, directed by Peter Lorenz and performed by Jelena Bašić, is a harrowing examination of modern warfare and media representation which interweaves stark accounts of the Iraq war with Bašić's personal memories and experiences as a child refugee during the Bosnian war. As the lines between reality and illusion blur, the question arises if the possibility of peace is even still thinkable? 

Now based in Edinburgh, Jelena Bašić has made her name as a regular performer with Mischief LaBas and Surge as well as running her own theatre workshops for refugees and directing Don Quixotte Rides Again which also plays at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

This show is the Fringe debut for Austrian-born and Berlin-based director Peter Lorenz, as well, who graduated from the University of Glasgow and has worked with Scottish Opera in the past. His experimental musical Morag, You're A Long Time Deid also runs at ZOO Southside Studio throughout August. 

In Bambiland, Bašić and Lorenz expertly dismantle the global media-war-machinery, and question who is allowed to say  “we” in the game of televised warfare. Thought-provoking tensions between what is true and what is real on stage leaves audiences reflecting on the violent act of representation and the cyclical nature of war. As Middle Eastern deserts and the siege of Sarajevo bleed into each other on stage, the distinction between “us” and “them” dissolves, presenting a powerful commentary on ongoing conflicts and the very words we have available to describe them.

Bambiland is a bold exploration of the war of words and images that shape our perception of global conflicts. It is a must-see for those interested in contemporary theatre, media and technology criticism, and the haunting echoes of contemporary history.

“It all comes back around, especially the wars.”
- Elfriede Jelinek, BAMBILAND (translated by Lilian M. Banks)

About Elfriede Jelinek:

Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist, renowned for her provocative works that explore themes of power, sexuality, and violence. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."

Join us at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for an unforgettable experience as "Bambiland" confronts the unsettling realities of war and media in our contemporary world.

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