The play “Presence of Absence” is part of the project “The Power of Memory,” which deals with post-traumatic memory, specifically the memory kept by family members, which relates to missing persons from their immediate environment. Their disappearances are tragic events for individuals and families who are left in the dark, and all that remains is memory and hope for resolution. During the resolution process, which takes time, memory darkens and fades along with historical truths that are also erased. Deep wounds caused by the disappearances of people continue to undermine relations between groups and nations, sometimes decades after such disappearances, and prevent society from embarking on a path to healing. [2013]
Art, especially theatrical art, is able to record and revive these endeavors through the living word and presence on stage. The play “Presence of Absence” deals with the themes of how to create a place of memory, what can record absence, how not to repeat the horror that happened, but rather create something that allows life to continue on a healthier level, while reminding that there are those who are responsible for this tragic situation, and who are still unpunished.
Our goal is to empower women and their families who have gone through the trauma of losing loved ones and to highlight their roles in overcoming trauma, as well as to offer theater as a means of transforming difficult memories and opening dialogue in the process of facing the past and building peace in the region.
The play uses authentic testimonies from: Samra Alić, Olgica Božanić, Ema Čekić, Cica Janković, Dragica Majstorović, Slavica Marinković, Beška Avdić, Ismeta Dardgan, Fadila Grahić, Hahifa Hasanović, Enisa Hasanović, Mevludina Lupića, Šifa Musić, Ajka Selimović, Mevla Selimović, Suvada Selimović and Zarfa Suljić.
Excerpts from the following books were used: “Circle of Love vs. Death: Testimonies of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” by Matilda Melibovski; “I Remember Julia: Voices of the Disappeared” by Eric Stener Carlson; “One Undoing Death” by Nora Strejilevich; “The Art of Telling the Truth – Narrating About the Authoritarian Regime” – edited by Ksenija Bilbija, Jo Ellen Fair, Cynthia E. Milton, Leigh A. Payne; “On the Heights of Despair” – Emil Cioran; “Nemesis” by Richard Miller and original texts by DAH Theater artists.
Direction and dramaturgy: Dijana Milošević
Cast: Sanja Krsmanović Tasić and Maja Vujović
Music: Jugoslav Hadžić
Violin and compositions for violin: Nemanja Ajdačić
Recorded voices: Sanja Krsmanović Tasić, Ivana Milenović Popović, Nina Noren, Maja Vujović
Set design: Neša ParipovićCostumes: DAH Theater and Marija Marković
Lighting: Milomir Dimitrijević
Assistant director: Mladen Lukešević
Associate – Consultant: Klaudija Bernardi
Translation: Sanja Krsmanović Tasić
Costume design: Rajka Sokić
Organization and PR: Ivana Milenović Popović and Nataša Novaković
Photography: Una Škandro
DAH Theater thanks:
Goran Bubalo, Jaya Hartline, Kenan Karavidić, Snežana Ljubevska, Suvada Selimović, Staša Zajović and Women in Black, Milena Todorović, Jelena Mišković, Danka Sekulović and Aleksandra Stojanović.
DAH Theater especially thanks:
Lina Vušković and Klaudija Bernardi for their support, Ivana Milenović Popović and Nina Noren for “lending” us their voices, as well as all those who have placed their trust in us and shared their testimonies.
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