Haris Pašović, a theatre director from Sarajevo, has created a theatre spectacle based on the essay entitled Europe Today (Evropa danas), written in 1935 by the famous Croatian author Miroslav Krleža (1893-1981).

The production of Europe Today was a result of cooperation between artists from several countries of the former Yugoslavia - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia. It was a co-production between the East West Centre in Sarajevo and the Slovenian National Theatre from Maribor.

In his essay Europe Today, Krleža analysed Europe and the European idea, and his conclusions about Europe at the time, according to the director Haris Pašović, ring just as true today as they did back then.

A critical attitude is necessary

"The essay by Miroslav Krleža reads as if it was written only this morning. It is quite fantastic how Krleža got straight to the very core of the situation in Europe and openly discussed the things that he saw as negative. Everything that he mentioned then, in 1935, is still around," said Haris Pašović at a recent press conference held shortly before the Sarajevo premiere of Europe Today.

Pašović believes that western European countries were wrong to ignore the rise of nationalist politics which eventually led to World War II, and that Europe made the same mistake during the 1990s when it misjudged the situation in the Balkans.

“A critical attitude toward western European policies is not a luxury but rather a necessity”, said Pašović when commenting on the link between the time Krleža wrote and what is happening today.

Pašović also criticised the consumer societies of today as well as the gap that exists between the rich and the poor, pointing out that today “we are becoming insensitive and losing our humane feelings”.

“We debase ourselves more each day while hurrying to shopping centres and betting shops oblivious to the blood on the pavement. We shrug our shoulders claiming that crimes committed by juvenile offenders are simply God’s will”.

On the EU, Pašović commented "Can we really afford the luxury of blindly running after a membership in a union we do not understand and one which does not understand itself?"

 

Moving the boundaries of art

This production, which critics have described as the kind that moves the boundaries of art, incorporated drama, music, dance, video projections and a spectacular light show. Owing to a great amount of interest among the audiences, the show was performed twice in one day and was also performed in the largest Olympic hall of Zetra in Sarajevo.

The audiences enjoyed a theatre-dance spectacle which lasted for over an hour. Using music, dance, acting, and video projections of some of the most important events in European history, the ensemble sought to bring the idea and the history of Europe closer to their audiences.

"What the audiences saw was a Europe without censorship, the Europe which, since the times of Krleža, has not changed one bit," said director Pašović.

In Europe Today, the Serbian actor Miki Manojlović breathes life into the thoughts laid down by Krleža, with the help of Edward Clug, a Romanian born dancer and choreographer now living in Slovenia. In addition, there are sixteen musical numbers in the play which are performed live by the Slovenian avant-garde music band Laibach, one of the most controversial bands of the former Yugoslavia.

Pašović's production of Europe Today premiered last year in Slovenia where it was an immediate success and where it received excellent reviews from both the audiences and the media.

"The audience lived through Krleža's text together with us. His text is also about Sarajevo, even though he wrote it some 85 years ago," said actor Miki Manojlović who performed Krleža's words on stage.

Haris Pašović, the director of the play, said it was his intention to show that people have "advanced technologically but that they still have not brought their animal urges under control."
 

Drawing attention to society’s problems

Haris Pašović is a well known theatre director from Sarajevo, who uses the plays he directs to draw attention to everyday problems in society. He graduated in 1984 from the Arts Academy in Novi Sad. He received a Fulbright scholarship to study in the United States. He has also studied in France and Great Britain.

He has directed plays such as Nora, where he gives an ironic portrayal of the consumer society of today, and Class Enemy, which looks at violence among young people.

The East West cultural centre is currently being built, and which Pašović is involved with, will be the first building of its kind dedicated to culture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is planned that by 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina should boast one of the most modern cultural centres in the region.

In addition, Pašović said that, in spite of the negative and critical attitudes the play expresses, all was not yet lost. "All we need to do is study, work, and be in a good mood".