Saturday, 9thMay 20254. 7:30pm, Croatian House of Culture on Sušak
Heartefact Fund, Belgrade, Serbia
(www.heartefact.org)
Paula Vogel: HOW I LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE
Direction: Tara Manić
Cast: Svetozar Cvetković and Marta Bogosavljević
“Terrible things happen every day, and we are shocked to the core when we hear or read about them. And these horrors that we read about usually lasted a long time. Sometimes even years. And someone lived them, day after day. This play is about that. Without sensationalism, without asking big questions, without giving simple answers to huge problems. This play was written 25 years ago. Some things haven’t changed, some have. But the strength of this text is not in its relevance to the horrors, but in the fact that it is about something much deeper, more complex and yet simpler – it is about a woman who remembers her life. A life scarred by trauma, but also a life filled with love and lessons in driving. And that is the problem. That nothing in this story is simple. If horrors were the problems that could be easily solved, they would already be solved. How I Learned to Drive is a play created with the great dedication of two incredibly brave actors and a talented director. For two months, the three of them lived, breathed and thought about the worst things that happen between people, with the desire to create a piece that will provide the audience with what has been the core of theatre for several millennia – catharsis. Catharsis about horror. To somehow move away from the phrase “How is this even possible?”
Vuk Bošković, playwright
“This play presents an extremely nuanced and thoughtful approach to the themes of sexual violence and abuse of minors. Under the direction of Tara Manić and with the virtuoso, fully rounded acting of Marta Bogosavljević and Svetozar Cvetković, the play delivers empathetic portraits of a teenage girl and her uncle. (…) The meaning of the play, which vividly depicts the emotional connection between two characters, including shared positive experiences, is important because it sheds light on the complex nature of a manipulative, violent and incestuous relationship.”
Borislav Matić, SeeStage (WB6)
“Marta Bogosavljević playfully presents Malecka, in the time of adolescence, of confusion, which the uncle uses to manipulate in order to satisfy his desire, assuring her (falsely) that he will not do anything she does not want him to. Her innocence and joy are palpable, but so is the trauma of experiencing his unwanted touch. The play takes place right next to the audience, using this physical proximity to create a striking impact. The actors change places, thus marking the change of time and perspectives of narration. As they mix with us, the audience, they make us sort of voyeurs, or witnesses of this challenging narrative. And its greatest value is in the psychological complexity; the reflection of their ambiguous relationship, on the one hand romantic and sincere, necessary for both him and her up to certain limits, when the control of innocence gives way, making room for violence.”
Ana Tasić, Politika