THEN AND LATER AND A CENTURY BETWEEN THEM
Premiere 23. 4. 2022, SNG Nova Gorica
We are researching life once upon a time and now through the eyes of a young generation of high school students of the AMO stage. We are stepping into our grandparents’ shoes and use the authorial-documentarist approach to travel back and forth in time. Through intergenerational dialogue, the project dispels the myths about ageing, it steps beyond age and opens a diverse palette of stories written by life. The process has been marked by the participants’ authorial approach, as they were the ones who selected the topic and researched it through the discussions with their grandparents. During the rehearsal process, the documentarist content transformed into a stage production, which researches not only life as it once was, but also the future the young generation wants for itself.
Mali Mladi oder Amo
Authors of Texts Minka Zavadlav, Hana Cej, Hela Beltram, Malaja Mikulin, Nejc Mladovan
Director and Mentor Nina Šorak
Dramaturg and Mentor Urša Adamič
Make-up Artist Katarina Laharnar
Photographer Sašo Štih
Project Manager Tereza Gregorič
Cast
Marija Minka Zavadlav, Vida Hela Beltram, Branko Nejc Mladovan, Stanka Hana Cej,
Franc Malaja Mikulin
MARIJA
I’m 94 years old and I have two children. My daughter moved abroad and left me, but I love my son dearly, except that he married a strange woman. We talk to each other a lot, I call him every day so that he doesn’t forget about me. I love guests in my house, but they have to respect my rules. I no longer have a husband, but I’m fine, the only problem I have is with doctors … It’s hard to find a right one.
VIDA
I used to live in Italy, it’s much better there, but I’ve now moved to Slovenia, because the health care here is better. I do believe we have to take care of our bodies now. The world is changing fast, but I am quite up-to-date with current events. I like watching The Good Doctor and I follow the news every day. I don’t have any children.
BRANKO
Hello, I’m just over 80 year old, but holding up well for my age. My wife and I go out to nature a lot. I prepare a healthy snack every day, with whole-wheat bread and skim milk cottage cheese. I’m happy with my life. Other that painful a knee I don’t have problems in life. I think my generation was lucky and we lived in good times.
STANKA
I’ve been a widow for a couple of years, but I’m not bored. I always arrive on time to events, I’m no longer in any hurry. My bones what they used to be. I used to jump over streams, now I l prefer to look for bridges. I’m a very good cook, at least my children say so. I use classic ingredients, and not too many spices, that’s my secret. I never miss an opportunity to sing a song or two.
FRANC
I grew up with three sisters, so I get along well with women, that’s how I won over my wife. I like solving crosswords and puzzles … And I like to fix things around the house … Back in the day they really build machines of better quality. I also fix furniture, gas pipes and plumbing, but my wife keeps complaining that the water is still cold.