UNRECOGNIZED

A play by Davit Gabunia and Jeton Neziraj

Directed by Data Tavadze

 

What happens to a person when their home, their history, or even their very existence is no longer recognized?

Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris becomes a starting point for confronting the contemporary world — a world in which borders shift, territories are claimed, states disappear or emerge, and people are driven from their homes. The stories of the ancient myth intersect with contemporary experiences of war, displacement, political violence, and non-recognition.

UNRECOGNIZED brings together performers from different countries, weaving their personal and collective experiences into a shared theatrical narrative. The performance explores the mechanisms of sacrifice, the construction of national myths, and the political decisions that determine whose lives are protected, whose are expendable, and whose very existence is acknowledged

We look at bodies caught between borders, wars, and political decisions — bodies that are sacrificed, used as ‘building materials’; bodies at whose expense states and nations are built or erased, borders are drawn, territories are claimed, political and religious power is consolidated, collective identities are established, and national myths are kept alive. For me, this performance is an attempt to give these bodies back their names, their memories, and the right to be seen.”

 

About the production

 

UNRECOGNIZED is a play by Davit Gabunia and Jeton Neziraj, directed by Data Tavadze. This international co-production brings together six performers from Ukraine, Georgia, North Macedonia, Finland, and Sweden.

Cast: * Ellen Jelinek * Kateryna Kisten * Kato Kalatozishvili * Maria Salomaa * Johannes Wanselow * Shkëlqim Islami

International partners:

Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo), Örnproduktion (Sweden), Theatre on Pechersk (Ukraine), Albanian Theatre Skopje (North Macedonia), Malmö Stadsteater (Sweden), Royal Dramatic Theatre — Dramaten (Sweden), and Göteborgs Stadsteater (Sweden).