Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept

Sunday 25 October

São Luiz Teatro Municipal, Lisbon

In 1990, with the war approaching, a group of former political prisoners, students and intellectuals from Kosovo began a historic movement of reconciliation between rivals in blood feuds. Until then, hundreds of families in Kosovo lived in a state of enmity and bloody rivalry. The cycle of revenge had taken the form of a vicious circle, with rivalries being passed down from generation to generation and the number of homicides in some of them sometimes reaching 30. What began as a small reconciliation movement quickly became a national public forum, with mothers, fathers and family members taking the stage before an audience and forgiving the blood of their loved ones to the family of their killer… Written and directed by two of Kosovo's leading theatre makers, Jeton Neziraj and Blerta Neziraj, in collaboration with Greg Homann, artistic director of the Market Theatre, the play features a cast made up of actors from Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia and South Africa. Performances in English, Albanian and South African languages. Subtitles in Portuguese and English. Technical sheet: Written by Jeton Neziraj; dramaturgy by Greg Homann; directed by Blerta Neziraj; with Gontse Ntshegang (South Africa), Ilire Vinca (Kosovo), Kensiwe Tshabalala (South Africa), Arben Bajraktaraj (Kosovo/France), Amernis Nokshiqi (North Macedonia), Les Made (South Africa) and Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu (South Africa).

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