Little Stars

on programme

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premiere

07. March 2024, Gimnazija Nova Gorica

about text

During the main break, after an uninspired lecture from the school psychologist, Mrs. Kavka, an incident occurs between two high school students. At first glance, the circumstances seem unclear. Oto, a brilliant athlete, is left with a fractured orbital rim. Miki, a model student and a straight-A student is the obvious culprit. Through their conversations and the conversations with the school psychologist, the background of the dispute is slowly revealed, and it goes beyond the mere eruption of teenage violence. The play thus doesn’t thematise the violence itself, but in the first place searches for its causes: the feeling of powerlessness, peer bullying, body image issues, sexual identity, societal pressure, and similar. Somewhere beyond the classrooms, hallways and school walls, an intimate relationship develops between Miki and Oto, one they perhaps never expected. Caught between the expectations of others and their own wishes they try to hold onto this island of freedom, convinced it would not survive the collision with the world. In doing so, they encounter those that were supposed to help them navigate, but who cannot come up with a thing more helpful than the mantra “little stars, little stars, help me.”

Little Stars is a play that has been created within the European project Young Europe IV: Unheard Voices whose goal is to provide space for different marginalised voices in drama. The proposed format of 45 minutes aims to create a production that doesn’t invite young people to theatre, but instead takes theatre to them. The production is created under the leadership of a director from the youngest generation, Živa Bizovičar.

Oto: These, too, are simply survival strategies, I don’t know what else to tell you, but I have no intention of being a victim, I decided long ago and I stand by my decision. Life is fucked up enough as it is, I don’t know why I’d make it more difficult for myself than it has to be. None of this counts, Miki, none of this is real. This isn’t life, just high school.

Jaka Smerkolj Simoneti

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