Thanatos
The performance Thanatos is part of the project The Day After, initiated in 2010 by the Group “Let’s…” and the Center for War Trauma from Novi Sad. The project was intended for young artists and war veterans from the 1991–1999 wars. Veterans hold a valuable understanding of the past and the consequences certain decisions can bring. On the other hand, young people tend to look toward the future with the hope that something better awaits them. We believed that a meeting of young artists and war veterans—two conceptions of life that often differ, but can complement each other—could be fruitful. Through a series of activities, we aimed to stimulate a dialogue on how they can cooperate in art and other (social) forms of life. With that goal, following physical theatre workshops, we began work on a theatre performance.
Choreography and costumes: Boris Čakširan
Dramaturgy: Marko Pejović
Music: Aleksandra Đokić
Set design: Ivana Krnjić
Performers: Jelena Stojiljković, Jovana Rakić Kiselčić, Ljudevit Kolar, Miodrag Tasić, Željko Vukelić / Goran Nikolić
Production: Group “Let’s…”
Project partner: Center for War Trauma
Financial support: City Assembly of Belgrade, Secretariat for Culture
When the heart stops, death begins. Deprived of oxygen, cells begin to “shut down.” There comes a time when, in a society’s DNA strands, neurons, and heart valves, the same kind of resignation occurs. Without clear awareness, society opts for death. The symptoms are obvious, yet people resist the idea that this is the direction they are heading. Destruction and the absence of compassion are irrefutable evidence that something within the human structure has given up the fight. Are we guided through life by Thanatos, or does hope exist somewhere, in some corner, that humans are capable of emerging from darkness and not surrendering to death?
—From the performance program
The show features contemporary dancers and veterans of the 1991–1999 wars, who bear witness to a time we hope is behind us, but whose consequences are still felt today.
…When the course of events leads war veterans Ljudevit Kolar, Miodrag Tasić, Novica Kostić, and Željko Vukelić to share their wartime sufferings—that is, their most traumatic personal encounters with the hell of Thanatos—then true, authentic drama unfolds, shaking the spirit, stirring the emotions, and opening the door to rebellion against the pain and sorrow carried by the black wings that destroy the essence of humanity…
Milica Zajcev, Danas Daily, 21. 03. 2011.
Whether you are a young viewer (and most of the audience at the Rex performance were young) or someone who experienced the horrors and destructive force of war during childhood or adulthood, you cannot remain untouched (which is expected), but you may be surprised (which is not expected) by the way these battle-hardened men deliver their monologues. Their sincerity, composure, and expressive power—which cannot be learned at any school for dramatic arts—make us forget where we are, silencing even the words and thoughts we might have used to praise them. Yet we consciously and hopefully accept their final gesture of opening the door—to banish the death drive—so we might carry a tear with us into the rainy night, along with the awareness that such a serious physical theatre performance can indeed make something better in and around us…