“For our generation, the war in the Balkans was the first conflict experienced live on television, which happened right here, and which was the foundation of a new Europe”, declares Norbert Martínez, who directs the play La filla de l’Est, based on the novel of the same name by Clara Usón. The project of the company Les Llibertàries is performed by Gemma Brió, Roger Julià, Josep Julien, Mar Orfila, Tàtels Pérez and Jordi Rico, and it premieres on Thursday in the Tallers hall of the TNC.
Brió, who signs the dramaturgy with Martínez, explains that “the novel is centered on Ana Mladic, the daughter of genocidal general Ratko Mladic. She committed suicide without knowing exactly why. Today he would be our age and he lived in circumstances very different from ours.” The general was sentenced to life in prison by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accused of genocide and crimes against humanity, as responsible, among other things, for the siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre.
At the age of 23, Ana Mladic committed suicide with her father’s gun, and this marks the story told in La filla de l’Est, which speculates on the reasons that led her to make this decision. “It’s a personal story to talk about the universal, executioners and victims; after all, a society that finds itself in this war”, declares the director.
Despite the tragedy, Brió points out that “the show is not that tragic, but it is grotesque, crazy, and there is perhaps black humor”, with scenes of political cabaret. The play does not want to “reprimand anyone, but to raise awareness that, while citizens go about their lives, serious things happen in the world and we should do something about it”.
Martínez remembers where the show came from: “It was born from the concerns of the world that surrounds us, now and a few years ago. It starts from the refugee crisis to talk about Europe and what we do in these circumstances, with moments of humanitarian crisis, of war conflicts…”
The director declares that they did a lot of research and then realized that “the conflict in the Balkans appeared repeatedly”. “They told us about Clara Usón’s novel – continues Martínez – and, although at first we resisted because we wanted to go to the sources, La hija del Este fascinated us because it explained what we wanted to explain. In addition, it had theatrical elements.”
The production offers live music throughout the show, to reproduce the era of the nineties, and can be seen at the TNC until February 11. “The UN is faced with a thousand bureaucratic and geopolitical impediments to activate the will of all”, concludes Martínez, who warns about the rise of the far right in Europe.
