Pristina killed along with the architect and his dream

It is a play about the murder of the architect and the city. The answers to the circumstances of how and what are found in the image of the capital today. “Prishtina – the foretold murder of a dream” with a text by Jeton Neziraj and directed by Blerta Neziraj, is not only a tribute to the architect Rexhep Luci. It is an alarm about how a city was killed by its architect and with him his dream in a city whose soul was killed. The evidence: the buildings that are being demolished every day, the architect's long-standing call that people will live like rats among the dirt, surrender in the face of the construction mafia and silence in the face of a foretold reality

Post-war. Pristina. The city is under constant threat from powerful developers. Urban planning rules are ignored, concrete is poured day and night without a break, and public space is shrinking more and more each time. The play “Prishtina – the foretold murder of a dream” with a text by Jeton Neziraj, directed by Blerta Neziraj, comes as a powerful and courageous narrative to oppose urban planning policies. Connecting two times, it brings the chaos of the capital now by going back decades when the capital “lost its soul” with the murder of Rexhep Luci, to whom the play is also a kind of homage.

The construction mafia and parallels in the "Pristina of experiences"

The love for his city is reflected in his dedication to the profession from architect to designer of Prishtina. Rexhep Luci was a first-generation architect. In the play “Prishtina”, actor Armend Smajli brings his character with all the efforts and unprecedented resistance despite the threats that led to his murder in defense of the capital from what the play refers to as the “construction mafia”. It was September 11, 2000 when Rexhep Luci was murdered at the entrance to his apartment in Prishtina. The killers – still unknown.

The scene opens with Smajli as Rexhep Luci looking at the architectural urban plan while the audience is still getting comfortable in their seats. The first narration is the story of Rexhep Luci's life, the attempts and insistence on an urban plan that initially led to his dismissal from his job – from his dismissal from his position as leader of what was called the “Self-Government Interest Community” between the 70s and 80s, which was engaged in overseeing all construction in the capital. 

At the time when he was pushing the content of the strict rules of urban construction, he was hired to lead the Urban Planning Agency, and his previous position had been taken by a Serbian leader. 
The architect, whose name is given to one of Pristina's main streets, had been persecuted throughout time by the Serbian system. And on the show, he was also persecuted by the owners of construction companies. 
Actor Shpëtim Selmani as Pierre, the French administrator of the United Nations in Kosovo, upon his arrival declares himself invincible to crime and corruption. Meanwhile, a shopping mall called “Prishtina of Experiences” sounds like a parody of the current slogan of the Municipality of Pristina. 

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An urban plan proposed by the architect meets with superficial approval even though it is required to be submitted for approval to the Municipal Assembly.

Foreign “experts” and the corruption of protest voices

In the play, the builders are the enemies of the city. Conflicts between Pierre and the architect begin when their worldviews clash. The former is in favor of parks, the latter of construction. 

Actor Afrim Muçaj plays Shabani, a leader of the workers' unions who supports the architect in his vision and also stands up for workers' rights. He is the ideal fighting spirit for workers' rights that is rarely seen today. But not until he is offered an apartment. Initially, he intends to resist his principles, but eventually falls. 

Actor Muçaj said that in the play he portrays those who, after the war, organized protests for the good of the city and then became corrupt and became part of this clan. 

"I am very happy to have been part of this production, this team. It is a process that has lasted more than a month and a half. We had a great time and I hope it has reflected on the audience. My role is a union leader who in the post-war period immediately held several protests for the good of the city. Then they became corrupt and ended up becoming part of blackmail and other things that were not very dignified," said actor Muçaj. 

He emphasized the theater's mission to stage societal issues such as that of massive construction in the capital. 

"The theater and we ourselves have a responsibility to highlight every problem in society, to bring it to their attention, especially to the people who cause those irregularities. Jetoni, the playwright, has done extraordinary work, as has Blerta. Our task is to make the public reflect on the situation that concerns each of us," Muçaj further expressed.

Citizens – mice among the dirt

In the media, the situation appears completely different from reality. Everyone is influenced to support degradation. The ignorance of citizens towards the urban planning of the capital is highlighted, while everyone turns their backs on the architect, despises him. And everything he says is meaningless. He is the only one who loves the capital and no one else loves it according to him. 

He says that Pristina is heading towards a place where there will be no spring breeze, no place for flowers. That people will live like rats, among the dirt. Accepting his fate, he says that they will live without love for the city. In a powerful speech to the audience, he says that they are the future rats. His powerful speech is followed by a fierce physical fight between himself, Pierre, Shaban and Meti, a role played by actor Kushtrim Qerimi. 

Meti, the owner of a construction company, kills the architect. The show, which, in addition to the artistic side, also has the part of informing the public with this story, reveals that the brother of the architect Luci, archaeologist Kemajl Luci, has never been called for an interview. The prominent archaeologist has been in public. He has refused to talk about the show. 

On September 11, 2000, the visionary of Pristina was shot six times in the back while returning to his apartment in Pristina. The murder of architect Rexhep Luci is believed to have been a result of his opposition to illegal construction in post-war Pristina. It is suspected that his murder was planned long ago. He was 58 years old when he was killed.

The prestigious “The Guardian” also wrote about the murder of Rexhep Luci. “Luci’s duties included signing orders for the demolition of illegal buildings. At the time of his murder, the department was in the process of demolishing a hotel complex. Colleagues said that Luci had been threatened twice in the last ten days,” reported “The Guardian.” And this part is also included in the play “Prishtina.” 

"The city was killed with the murder of Rexhep Luci," the play says.

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The origin of chaos and suffocation

Playwright Jeton Neziraj said that the play has an artistic dimension, but also a human one. That it communicates honestly with the audience about the issues that concern them today. 

"The play has two levels, a kind of cut of Pristina in the post-war period, the chaos of that time and above all it talks about Pristina today. About the consequences of that chaos, those decisions, the consequences of the murder of Rexhep Luci. The actors also say that it was a kind of dam that when it was removed, the destruction flooded and this is what we have today in Pristina and Kosovo," said Neziraj. 

He mentioned that the drama is a kind of new version of the play with his text "Five Seasons of the Enemy of the People" premiered on September 24, 2019 at the National Theater of Kosovo. All the actors who play in this play are part of the play that premiered on Friday night at the "Oda" theater. 

This play was written six or seven years ago with a different title, with a dramaturgical subject that this play is also based on, but which was completely different, a political allegory for post-war Pristina, for the architect. 

"It resonated and corresponded more with Ibsen's drama - 'An Enemy of the People'. Now we have considered that we should talk about Pristina today, but referring to that post-war period, taking as the cause the murder of Rexhep Luci", explained playwright Neziraj at the end of the play. 
To reinforce the thesis that the capital is becoming increasingly suffocated and the chaos is becoming increasingly intense, the show also includes data from Atlas Institute research on the condition of Pristina, such as the level of air pollution, the reduction of public spaces, and more. 

"Playwright Jeton Neziraj has invited us as the 'Atlas Institute' to provide data regarding the environmental issue and construction in the Municipality of Pristina. Our part has been to provide concrete data on what has happened two and a half decades after the murder of Rexhep Luci and the developments that have occurred in Pristina regarding pollution, illegal construction, the reduction of public spaces, pollution, the impact it has on the elderly and children. These have been included in the play to show the poor condition of the city", said Agron Demi, director of the "Atlas Institute". 

Part of the play are also the stories that resemble the personal stories of the actors. The costumes for the play were made by Njomza Luci, the daughter of the late architect. In a play that spares pathos to the maximum, as well as scenes where compassion is displayed, this feeling finally comes when the actor Kushtrim Qerimi, in a sincere confession, expresses that his role in the play where he kills the architect, has been the most embarrassing ever for him.

Today in a soulless city

And as Njomza, Rexhep Luci's daughter, actress Verona Koxha plays. A dream scene at the end, with fabulous scenography by Alice Vanini and video by Besim Ugzmajli, leads to the afterlife where she meets her father. Dreaming of an ideal universe that does not exist, the latter finds the courage to ask about the city. And she describes the state of the capital as it is today: how people and strollers carrying children no longer have space on the sidewalks. 

Director Fadil Hysaj said that returning to this topic at this time with a theater performance has great value and is a very courageous act. 

"The development of the capital has gone through traumatic situations. Since the murder of Rexhep Luc, this city has lost its soul, its breath has been taken away, and today, from that galloping construction rush, it is terrible to see at night that there are no people, they only buy apartments and do not live there. I have not yet managed to understand what this epidemic of construction and passion to buy an apartment is in the city that has actually lost its soul and that it is very difficult to return the soul that was taken along with the man who gave this city its identity," said Hysaj. 

According to him, today there is neither the courage nor the desire to talk about this issue. 

"Every attempt to bring back the soul of the city meets with resistance, even when an architect is the mayor of this city," said Hysaj. 

The play will unfold its story in Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands next year. At least these are the countries that are known for its journey. The music was created by composer Tomor Kuçi and the choreography by Gjergj Prevazi. The assistant director is Gëzim Hasani, the art director is Aurela Kadriu and the lighting is by Mursel Bekteshi. 

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Admiring views of the miniature plan of Pristina, accompanied by archival footage of Pristina from the last century, are the artistic closing of the show "Prishtina - the foretold murder of a dream". 

It is a play about the murder of the architect and the city. The answers to the circumstances of how and what are found in the image of the capital today.