We are excited to announce that our play PRISHTINA. The Premeditated Killing of a Dream will be performed at the Sarajevo Theatre Showcase 2025 on September 14^th at the National Theatre of Sarajevo.

PRISHTINA. The Premeditated Killing of a Dream premiered on May 23, 2025, at ODA Theatre in Prishtina. The starting point of this play is the story of a crime, which happened 25 years before, in a recently liberated Prishtina, which was then administered by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. Rexhep Luci, architect and Pristina’s head of spatial planning, tried to establish urbanism controls.

He was threatened a number of times by people from the underworld and then, on 11 September 2000, he was killed by an unknown assailant inside the entrance to his apartment in Prishtina. Building upon this tragedy,  “PRISHTINA. The Premeditated Killing of a Dream” speaks about the issue of illegal construction in Prishtina and in Kosovo which has taken on catastrophic dimensions and invites us to rethink our relationship with, and responsibility for the city, at a time when this destructive cycle has become institutionalized and normalized.

Written by Jeton Neziraj and directed by Blerta Neziraj, the play was produced by Qendra Multimedia in Prishtina, incorporating factual information and data on illegal construction, environmental damage, and public health in post-war Prishtina.

In an article for Kosovo2.0 Agron Demi said: “Blerta Neziraj, the play’s director, leads a politically charged production, guiding the actors through a process that is half-play, half-public inquiry. The cast doesn’t just act; they testify. They speak not just as performers, but as citizens. In the final moments, one actor breaks character and says, “Rexhep Luci was the dam. When they killed him, the flood began.” That flood, he says, is still rising. This is what makes “Prishtina: The Premeditated Killing of a Dream” more than art. It’s an autopsy. Of a man, a city and a system. It doesn’t ask who pulled the trigger. It asks who profited."

Meanwhile, in an interview about the play, Neziraj said: "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."

The Sarajevo Theatre Showcase is an annual event that brings together regional theatre professionals and talent with international decision-makers, while promoting sustainable practices in theatre production. It also offers professional development opportunities—such as residencies and workshops—and provides targeted support for women, young professionals, and underrepresented theatre makers.

The Sarajevo Theatre Showcase will take place during the second week of September (12–14), presenting theatre performances from across Southeast Europe. In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, this year’s program will also feature plays from Slovenia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Croatia.

The cast of PRISHTINA. The Premeditated Killing of a Dream includes Armend Smajli, Verona Koxha, Shpëtim Selmani, Kushtrim Qerimi, and Afrim Muçaj.