NEGOTIATING PEACE Will Embark on Tour

Looking at peace negotiations including Dayton peace agreement, those in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, the still-unresolved talks between Kosovo and Serbia, and anticipating the conclusion of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Kosovo’s Qendra Multimedia have brought together a pan European ensemble to create Negotiating Peace. This new production has been created with artists and theatre groups from Ukraine, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Italy, Czechia, Albania, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland and Estonia.
 
Considering models that have been used in various wars and conflicts around the world Negotiating Peace tries to imagine what goes into creating a peace agreement: the background, the challenges and the fear and hope that accompanies the process, asking important questions such as: Who can negotiate peace? Do political leaders have the legitimacy to do so? Do ordinary people really reconcile after the signing of an “act of peace” on their behalf? Can there be collective forgiveness, or is forgiveness an individual act? 

Negotiating Peace will be directed by Qendra’s Blerta Neziraj in her vibrant and striking style which tackles political and social issues head-on. The play is written by Jeton Neziraj, previously Artistic Director of The National Theatre of Kosovo who has written over 20 plays. His plays have won numerous prizes and have been performed in theatre festivals throughout Europe and in the US and he has been described by German theatre magazine Theater der Zeit as the ‘Kafka of the Balkans’. In writing Negotiating Peace, he found inspiration in To End a War, written by US President Clinton’s Chief Negotiator in the Balkans Richard Holbrooke.  

Blerta Neziraj’s productions for Qendra Multimedia have toured internationally to Lausanne, Milan, Vienna, Hamburg, Lyon, Bern, and New York - among others. She is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab and her awards include Best Director in Kosovan theatre in 2020.  

  

Following the world  premiere at the company’s home base, Prishtina’s Teatri ODA, Negotiating Peace will tour within Kosovo and North Macedonia, including performances as part of the Kosovo Theatre Showcase which takes place between 24 - 29th of October 2023. Negotiating Peace will then tour through the Autumn to Germany for the theatre and dance festival euro-scene Leipzig (8 & 9 Nov), Prague, at Prague City Theatres (13 & 14 Nov), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Estonia with dates in Italy, Norway, Poland to come in 2024 and 2025.   

Speaking about the production Blerta Neziraj said: “A topic like this, so relevant for the current times – especially the very present – somehow burdens you with added responsibilities that go beyond the responsibilities of an ordinary theatre process. I am working with a cast of seven actors coming from seven different countries of Europe and I am already aware of the fact that this will be a challenging work process, but the idea of it is also exciting! What does it mean to “negotiate peace” for a Ukrainian actor, or for an actress from Bosnia and Herzegovina? Or for the actor from Serbia and the actress from Kosovo? The main thing we are looking at in this theatre production is: If war has its demons leading people towards destruction and misery, what does peace have? Who are the antipode of the war demons?! Are they the peace emissaries? The political leaders who have the courage to sign peace agreements? Or the ordinary people, the survivors, who have paid the highest price of the war.” 

Qendra Multimedia is a cultural organization with a growing international reputation based in Prishtina, Kosovo and focused on contemporary theatre and literature. Since 2020 the company has had its own 200 seat theatre (Teatri ODA) in the city center of Prishtina. Qendra is widely considered to be one of the most interesting and provocative theatre companies in South Eastern Europe with performances that are provocative and stir debate among audiences. Qendra has co-produced work with theatre companies across Europe and in the USA, including Volksbühne Berlin, La MaMa New York and the National Theater of Kosovo. Negotiating Peace follows the company’s successful European tour of The Handke Project in 2022 & 2023 and Europe/US tour of Balkan Bordello. The company’s work has been widley featured in international press including the New York Times (USA), The Guardian (UK), Der Spiegel (Germany), La Repubblica (Italy), Theater Heute (Germany), and The Stage (UK). 

  

Creative Team 

Written by Jeton Neziraj 

Directed by Blerta Neziraj 

Composer Ardo Ran Varres (Estonia)
 Translator Suzana Vuljevic 

Costume Designer Blagoj Micevski (North Macedonia) 

Choreography Gjergj Prevazi (Albania) 

Video Besim Ugzmajli (Kosovo)

Stage and lighting design: Agata Skwarczyńska (Poland) 

Lighting design: Yann Perregaux (Switzerland/Kosovo).

Tour Dates

16 October 2023 | ODA Theatre, Prishtina (Kosovo) https://www.teatrioda.com/  

19 October 2023 | ODA Theatre, Prishtina (Kosovo) https://www.teatrioda.com/ 

20 October | Gjilan City Theatre, Gjilan  (Kosovo) 

21 October | Albanian Drama Theatre, Skopje (North Macedonia) 

23 October, City Theater, Ferizaj, (Kosovo) – Part of Kosovo Theatre Showcase

25 October | Oda Theatre, Prishtina  https://www.teatrioda.com/ Part of Kosovo Theatre Showcase  

8 & 9 November | euro-scene Leipzig (Leipzig – Germany) www.euro-scene.de/en/ 

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