"1984" with the fate of the past predicts the future

At the center of the show are the consequences and impacts of the "Big Brother" phenomenon - the television format inspired by Orwell's work - which is known as a symbol of abuse of the power of those in power. It was especially used during fascism. This type of system is also the essence of the theme of the two-hour show, "1984". Today the play conjures up censorship in various forms as a kind of indirect dictatorship. With a text by the great writer George Orwell and directed by the famous French director Igor Mendjisky, "1984" made the difference between the reality and the illusion in which society lives

The paradoxes of life and the concept of freedom were staged on the stage of the National Theater of Kosovo. The play "1984" with text by the great writer George Orwell and directed by the famous French director Igor Mendjisky made the difference between reality and the illusion in which society lives. The ability to manipulate and extend the totalitarian system goes to the point where it creates self-doubt. The love story between two characters is the core to get to the essence of the play. "1984", which predicts the situation over three decades before the event takes place, has been a reflection on the theme that is suitable even today and for the unforeseen future.

At the center of the show are the consequences and impacts of the "Big Brother" phenomenon - the television format inspired by Orwell's work - which is known as a symbol of abuse of the power of those in power. It was especially used during fascism. This type of system is also the essence of the theme of the two-hour show. Today, the play conjures up censorship in various forms as a kind of indirect dictatorship.

On Saturday night, the actors welcomed the public on the stage of the Amphitheater of the National Theater in Pristina. Until the lights went down in the audience section, a light mist preceded the exploration of the narrative. "1984" was initially perceived as a kind of irony with the reality of the leadership of systems and rulers. Outside the "frames" of the stage, on the right side of the audience, the author of the play, the writer George Orwell, has appeared, a role played by the actress Arta Selimi. As an intro to the show, it was the introduction of the show's characters. Some of them, because of their profession, their activity that suits the system, they approach, those who oppose are persecuted.

Such as Mrs. Parsons (Edona Reshitaj) and Sherington (Xejlane Godanci) give the impression that they are easily manipulated with their naivety when, from the start of the presentation, it is considered that there is no need to gather information. The complete opposite resembles the character Winston Smith, who is then sacrificed as a result of his bravery. He is an employee of the government who is introduced as working in the "Ministry of Truth" or if it is defined it turns out to be the Ministry of Lies. These words of his attract the attention of O'Brien, part of the "Brotherhood Party", a role played by actor Adrian Morina. His every move is under control. Even the people dear to him suffer, as is the case with Julian (Flaka Latifi).

While Winston's criticism comes across as rebellion, he suddenly falls to the ground. Immediate eulogies begin for him, similar to those usually spoken after death, until he rises and the love between him and Julia begins. The show foresees the disappearance of words, the greatest reduction of the vocabulary that comes as a phenomenon through the role of Sime, played by Basri Lushtaku. An irony comes to media propaganda and self-censorship. This is when one of the attendees, Goldstein (Shpejtim Kastrati), who is considered the most dangerous person in power, raises his voice about injustices and disobedience.

"1984" brings the clash between the truth and the manipulation of society. The show based on the 1948 novel also predicts the advancement of communication technology. The textual side in the show is massive. O'Brien often comes as the show's narrator, to talk about phenomena, circumstances, current events. It soon affects Winston and Julia's love, where signs of politics' control over their lives begin to appear. The actor Adrian Morina, who played the role, said that the character personifies the politicians and the powers very well.

"In the dramatization concept and in Igor's direction, he comes almost as a character who controls all the levers, but he comes to the last part when he shows his power almost imperceptibly. Usually as politicians come, as powers come, almost unnoticed. It is the negative role, of bad boys, that these roles have become frequent for me, I like them since they give me many opportunities to play", said the actor Morina.

He said that the process for the show was very short and that it is crazy that such a work is completed within a month. This is due to the dates set for the engagement of the French director in Kosovo. For actor Morina, Mendjisky's approach to the show has been exceptional.

"The way it was approached through a love story to bring about the dictatorship is extraordinary. Above all, with a small artistic intervention at the end, it revives the characters and gives a small piece of hope for the future. It doesn't end as it ends in the novel, it leaves hope that humanity and love will triumph, it's not the world we would like to be in, despite the fact that we live in it", Morina assessed.

He said that apart from society, the play has also reflected on the work of the theater. "Having always been engaged in this theater, we are often missing the spirit, emotion, love, we have become pretty much like many robots. A little with the fear that the audience doesn't have enough time to listen to tell the whole story, like we came up with some thoughts as a community that the show should last an hour, the dynamics of life. Tonight it was proven that when you put on a good show, I say it without modesty, as if people also missed seeing something alive, to see a magical world that we are missing", said Morina further.

Digital surveillance, fear of eavesdropping, submission to the powerful for the sake of love, are among the properties that the show begins to reveal.

Initially in an indirect form, then openly, it is revealed that the rulers, the leaders of the society aim to spread negative phenomena. The curtain falls on the truths of life, the behind-the-scenes of criminality, especially the sacrifice of the poor whose love is taken hostage for individual interests. An act of the show also affects the education system, revealing the influence on the content of books where the truth is diverted and history is distorted.

The irony comes even stronger when parts of the play respond to the times today. Books are considered useless and human existence is questioned. It is a dark world from which people are not allowed to come out. Innocents are arrested when loved ones betray. The health system becomes a servant of the rulers when it serves to brainwash the people. It also happens that the event turns upside down and the government starts talking bad about the government. Known facts are manipulated, trust between family members and lovers disappears. Man disappears and man remains but a living, unconscious body.

The director of the show, the French Igor Mendjisky, said that he made such interventions in the show to focus on the love story.

"It was the first time I worked with a theater troupe from another country. It was a real adventure to work with them. It was a fantastic experience. When I adapted the play, I tried to focus on the love story, and that's why I think the ending was more dangerous, more amazing, more like a tsunami", said director Mendjisky, according to whom the play contains traces of life today.

"When the work was written, it was a satire, then it became a novel of anticipation, and now I think there are many things in the novel that we live today. I think it is something universal", he said further.

The director of the National Theater of Kosovo, Kushtrim Sheremeti, expressed his pride in the work of the troupe and all the staff of the TKK.

"We are very happy that we managed to stage the drama '1984' for the first time. The problems that Orwell deals with in the work '1984' which he wrote in 1948, in reality the whole world is faced with such problems today and unfortunately it may be faced in the future as well. The beauty of this dramatization is Orwell's last word at the end which says 'I wrote it to warn of what might happen'. A very good job, we can't wait to continue. Even for the replays, most of the tickets have been sold, there has been tremendous public interest", said Sheremeti.

He has announced that their intentions are to have the show "1984" performed abroad, while he has indicated that representatives of the festivals have informed him that they will come to see it up close.

"It is one of those points where we decided to open the National Theater of Kosovo to the world. It is an unusual show for the stage of TKK because of the dynamics, the poetry that it has inside. The team with the director and everyone else have done it in a masterful way", said Sheremeti further.

What was special was how the "author" of the play was positioned at one end and the audience could see his thoughts right there, a few meters away from him. He often repeated the words in unison with the actors and joined in the play.

"It was a bit of a passive role, since most of the time I'm sitting writing the work, while the work takes place on stage. The other parts I've played I've really liked because they're cool. The show was two hours long and I saw that it flowed, it was intense in its own way", said the actress Arta Selimi who played the role. She is also united in the opinion that the theme of the show remains today.

"The novel has inspired the 'Big Brother' patent that is done in the world today, that part of people's surveillance. It is an enormous work that was written in 1948 and still stands today. I think that everything I had to say reduced the impact that the work actually had. So I'm happy that I played George Orwell himself," she said.

Actor Ylber Bardhi said that his role was a kind of challenge, but also a space for creativity. "In this work I play the role of Winston, he is one of the main characters. Naturally, it was very challenging since the text was written in 1948 and it is strange how it fits today. Knowing that the public is used to seeing me in comedies, it has been challenging for me as well, but at the same time it has been a great privilege that they have entrusted me with this role", he said while evaluating the text of the show as exciting. .

"The text itself is emotional, the theme of dictatorship that is treated in this play is very emotional. Normally, the characters float through this topic and the story of George Orwell's '1984' comes to the public," said actor Ylber Bardhi.

The show brought together well-known names of the theater scene in the crowded hall of the Amphitheater of the National Theater of Kosovo in the Palace of Youth and Sports. The director of the theater "Hadi Shehu" in Gjakovë, Albulena Kryeziu-Bokshi, has appreciated the show as a call for the truth.

"The show made a very pleasant impression on me, I enjoyed it a lot, I experienced it like a movie, just like some old French movies. It flowed nicely but, nevertheless, gave us very powerful messages. A show that tells us a lot about the person we are today, about the time we live in and I believe that theater is the weapon of truth, therefore this show can also be a call for the truth", she said.

When the rehearsals for the show "1984" from the National Theater became public, the philosopher and professor Muhamedin Kullashi had evaluated the staging of "George Orwell's precious work" as good news. At the beginning of the month, "Koha Ditore" published his analysis of the interpretation that the French philosopher Claude Lefort had made of the novel "1984".

"Lefort thinks that the essential part of the novel '1984' remains unknown to us within those political essays, and even 'the purpose of the work escapes us like this'. In order to reveal to us his own experience of the totalitarian world, Orwell, according to Lefort, embarks on a literary investigation, within a region which 'eschews the raw light of the concept', a region in which 'the boundaries of internal and external, personal existence and politics'. Winston, a clerk in the Ministry of Truth of the totalitarian regime, gripped by doubts, decides to write a diary of his own and confides in an important member of the Party, O'Brien, who is introduced as an agent of the conspiracy: 'The loss of it looks like this to him, provoked by the unconditional trust he had for a false opponent of the regime'", wrote Kullashi.

Winston's body at the end of the play is pierced by the bullet of distrust and betrayal. "I wrote the play to warn," says Orwell in the last part of the play. In the end, it is announced that the two-hour drama will continue in the future. And it seems that no special occasion is needed to give the show. The fortune teller has the power to become more meaningful as time goes on.