The (H)AJMO! event series starts with the play "Jedvanosimsoboakalomistobo" by the Sarajevo War Theatre SARTR on 21st April in Zurich. Afterwards, we continue with the concert by Amira Medunjanin on 28th April in Bern and the children's theatre play "Pretendedly, I was brought by a stork" by Zijah Sokolović on 29th April in Zurich. And last but not least, we are closing the (H)AJMO! event series with a literary evening with Dževad Karahasan on 4th May in Bern.
JEDVANOSIMSOBOAKALOMISTOBO
A play by the Sarajevo War Theatre SARTR
i-platform invites you to the play ''Jedvanosimsoboakalomistobo'' by the Sarajevo War Theatre SARTR, as part of the cultural event series (H)AJMO! This social comedy deals with problems that citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina are facing on a daily basis and due to which a large number of persons decide to leave the country and seek their fortune abroad.
The play is followed by an audience discussion with the actors.
SATURDAY, 21st APRIL 2018
Venue:
Kirchgemeindehaus Neumünster
Seefeldstrasse 91
8008 Zürich
Opening of doors: 19:30h
Beginning of the play: 20:00h
Ticket price: 25.00 CHF
Language: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, with English subtitles
Ticket reservation by e-mail: event [at] i-platform.ch
About the play „Jedvanosimsoboakalomistobo“
Author: Nejra Babić, playwright
As regards those who are staying, we congratulate them on their existence
Writing a text about the situation in a country in which everyone is already talking about it, writing columns, discussing, arguing, keeping silent, screaming, protesting, giving up protesting, etc., is like putting one’s brain in the drum of a washing machine. There is a myriad of topics that one might write about, and there are even more absurd situations. The most interesting part of the whole process preceding the writing is the research itself, since this has led to some scenes that my imagination could never even have come up with. Examples include things such as the report of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees ''about the brain drain and the enormous financial resource that the diaspora constitutes for the development of the home country'', the story of a woman discharged from the hospital after giving birth, whose sex was stated as male, a list of official professions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with also includes the item department director, not classified elsewhere, etc.
Luckily, I did not write the text alone, but rather together with the director Aleš Kurt, who provided ideas and advice to navigate through a crazy array of topics that we could focus on. We started with the attempt of defining who we actually are, and then went over to the post-war period and the endless transition, in order to come to the present, in which we spend a lot of time at counters, unemployed and tired, waiting for planes to crash down from heaven in order to escape from our home country. Because the truth is that we are frequently barely able to deal with ourselves, let alone speak about the situation that we are in. But not everyone can leave. As regards those who are staying, we congratulate them on their existence.
The playwrights are Nejra Babić and Aleš Kurt, the latter being also the director of the play.
Actors: Maja Salkić, Mirela Lambić, Ana Mia Milić, Alban Ukaj, Sead Pandur, Jasenko Pašić, Adnan Kreso, Saša Krmpotić and Anida Isanović. Play writers: Dubravka Zrnčić-Kulenović and Nejra Babić. Costume design: Melisa Musić Ajkunić. Set design: Vedran Hrustanović. Music: Damir Nevesinjac and Basheskia.
The play is part of the project A suitcase of memories of a puppet theatre studio Sarajevo, which is supported by the Swiss Government.
AMIRA MEDUNJANIN
i-platform, in cooperation with the organisation Kultur Shock, has the pleasure of inviting you to the concert of Amira Medunjanin, that will take place as part of the cultural event series (H)AJMO! on Saturday, 28th April 2018 in Bern.
SATURDAY, 28th APRIL 2018
Venue:
Yehudi Menuhin Forum
Helvetiaplatz 6
3005 Bern
Opening of doors: 20:00h
Beginning of the concert: 21:00h
Ticket price: 35.00 CHF
Ticket reservation by e-mail: info [at] kulturshock.ch
Amira Medunjanin was born in Sarajevo at the time when the popularity of traditional music in the former Yugoslavia was at the high tide, and sevdah held a special place for her. The sevdalinka songs (sevdah songs) she learned from her mother were the most beautiful of songs. Her fascination with the oral tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina led her to devote her time to creating a unique voice in sevdalinka songs to explore their expressive capacity to the fullest. She had spent years searching in vain for people who shared her ideas about sevdah, and for the best way to present them.
Dubbed ''Bosnia's Billie Holiday'' by the music journalist and author Garth Cartwright, the comparison reflects the way in which Amira turns sevdah inside out, finding new contexts and forms in a tradition that is hundreds of years old.
After a guest appearance on the album "A Secret Gate" of Mostar Sevdah Reunion in 2003, Amira Medunjanin made her debut album "Rosa" in 2005, issued by Snail Records. The album was excellently received in Great Britain and throughout Europe and was among the candidates for the album of the year. In the meantime, she published several more albums and won thousands of loyal listeners and fans, which was entirely well deserved.
During her concert in Berne, Amira Medunjanin will be accompanied by the guitar player Ante Gelo.
PRETENDEDLY, I WAS BROUGHT BY A STORK
A children’s play by Zijah Sokolović
In the framework of the cultural event series (H)AJMO!, i-platform is inviting you and your children to the children's play ''Pretendedly, I was brought by a stork'' by Zijah Sokolović. The play for the youngest ones will take place on 29th April 2018 in Zurich.
SUNDAY 29th APRIL 2018
Venue:
Theater PurPur
Grütlistrasse 36
8002 Zürich
Opening of doors: 10:00h
Beginning of the play: 10:30h
Ticket price
- Adults: 10.00 CHF
- Children aged 8-16 years: 5.00 CHF
Language: Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian
Ticket reservation by e-mail: event [at] i-platform.ch
About the children's play ''Pretendedly, I was brought by a stork''
The secret of one's origin is one of the most exciting ones that a child faces from the moment when he or she becomes self-conscious. His or her further attitude towards his or her own sexuality, the other sex, understanding of love and the world he or she lives in depends on the way in which this secret is resolved and on the person and the way in which this person helps him or her resolve the secret. His or her mental health, once he or she grows up, also depends on the very same issue. In today's world of communication, computers and TV, even the youngest ones laugh at stories about the stork and babies that moms and dads find in cabbage. Parents, on the other hand, are facing the dilemma as to how to explain the origin of life to their child and how to do it in a natural, truthful and understandable manner, with measure and taste, without being vulgar or drifting off into obscure metaphors.
LITERARY EVENING WITH DŽEVAD KARAHASAN
i-platform, in cooperation with the Institute for Slavic Studies of the University of Bern, has the pleasure to invite you to a literary evening with Dževad Karahasan on 4th May 2018 in Bern as part of the cultural event series (H)AJMO!.
FRIDAY, 4th MAY 2018
Venue:
Unitobler
Sala F-121
Lerchenweg 36
3000 Bern
Beginning: 19:00h
Ticket price: Free entrance
Language: German
Dževad Karahasan, a writer, will read from his novels Sjeme smrti, Utjeha noćnog neba and Miris straha, which constitute a trilogy about the great Persian mathematician, astronomer and poet, Omar Khayyam, and will discuss his literary work.
Dževad Karahasan, born in 1953 in Duvno, today Tomislavgrad, is a Bosnian and Herzegovinian novel writer, playwright, essayist. He studied literature and theatre studies in Sarajevo and completed his PhD studies in Zagreb. He was a playwright at the National Theatre in Zenica and part of the editorial board of the magazine Odjek i Izraz. He is a full professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo, and a visiting professor at numerous universities, such as the University of Göttingen, Berlin and Salzburg. He was awarded numerous international awards, and in 2014, he was also awarded a honorary doctorate by the University of Basel. Since 1997 he has been living in Graz and Sarajevo.