Kosovo tour dates announced for the play 'Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept'

Opening night: 17 October, 20:00h, Gjilan City Theatre

Further shows: 18 October, 20:00h, Gjilan City Theatre

22, 23 & 24 October, 20:00h, Oda Theatre, Prishtina 

29 October, 19:00h, Prizren City Theatre, Prizren 

Performed in English, Albanian and Zulu 

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A theatre project created by artists from Europe and Africa exploring reconciliation processes and the nature of truth and forgivenes

In 1990, with war on the horizon, a group of former political prisoners, students and intellectuals from Kosovo initiated a historical movement for blood feud reconciliation. Up until this point, hundreds of families in Kosovo were in a state of enmity and blood feud. The cycle of vendetta had taken the form of a vicious circle, with feuds passed down from one generation to the next and the number of murders between the two sides sometimes amounting to thirty.  What started as a small reconciliation movement, quickly transformed into a public national forum, with mothers, fathers and family members taking to the stage in front of an audience and forgiving the blood of their beloved to the family of their murderer. Many public ‘sessions’ took place and hundreds of families reconciled during this process. 1,275 blood feuds and conflicts were resolved in total. Over half a million people attended the last public session of reconciliation.

On the other side of the globe, in 1995 the South African government initiated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, aiming to heal the country and reconcile the people, by creating a space for them to confront the truth of crimes committed against them during apartheid, Victims and perpetrators were put in front of each other, in a ‘trial’ where terrible truths from these periods of violence, oppression and persecution were revealed.

These two major social and historical events, very distinct and yet in many ways similar, have forgiveness at their very core, as a cornerstone to social healing and cohesion, emancipation, and reconciliation.

Through archive and newly-collected testimonials, a group of artists from Europe and Africa reflect on the lessons that the 1990 Blood Feuds Reconciliation Campaign in Kosovo and the 1995 Truth and Reconciliation Campaign in South Africa  offer us today - lessons that could serve us in a world once again engulfed in violence and conflict. If 30 years ago, the truth was believed to be able to liberate us, what liberates us in today’s post-truth age? When we forgive, do we forgive unconditionally?

Following the world  premiere in Kosovo, at Gjilan City Theatre, Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept  will be presented at the Kosovo/North Macedonia Theatre Showcase which takes place between 28th October – 1^st November as part of Balkan tour. It will embark on a European tour in April 2026 and be performed in South Africa in June 2026 and New York in March 2027.

“The process of creating Under the Shade of Tree I Sat and Wept has been a true sharing between South African and European voices. It has brought together three of our actors and a South African composer with their Balkan counterparts, allowing for an exchange of histories, rhythms, and lived experiences that demanded listening and understanding. It is through this dialogue of cultures that this dynamic work finds its deepest resonance.” - Greg Homann, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre Foundation, Johannesburg

“This performance is an ambitious attempt to retrospectively examine two historic processes and initiatives, almost epic in nature, that took place on two sides of the globe: one in Kosovo and the other in South Africa. But beyond that, we have been interested in tracing the deeply intimate stories of the people who were involved in these processes, in their personal dynamics, because we believe that there lies the answer to the questions that concern us: why and under what conditions do people forgive? This process, working with these stories and their origins from the highly complex contexts of the two societies, that of Kosovo and that of South Africa, has on one hand transformed this journey into a learning process for us, while on the other hand it has increased our artistic responsibility to work with and navigate carefully the material with which we are engaging. By analyzing why and how people forgive, we also put forward for discussion the bigger question: under what circumstances is reconciliation possible, between people, between nations.” - Jeton Neziraj, playwright and founder of Qendra Multimedia

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Artistic and technical team

Author: Jeton Neziraj  | Directed by: Blerta Neziraj | Dramaturg: Greg Homann  | Performers: Ema Andrea, Gontse Ntshegang, Ilire Vinca, Kensiwe Tshabalala, Arben Bajraktaraj, Les Made  | Composer: Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu | Stage Designer: Theun Mosk | Ruimtetijd | Choreographer: Jochen Roller | Costume Designer: Blagoj Micevski | Video: Besim Ugzmajli | Lighting Design: Vincent Longuemare | Ass. Director: Gezim Hasani | Art Director: Aurela Kadriu | Associate Stage Designer: Rients Dijkstra | Technical Director: Bekim Korça |PR: Natasha Tripney | Artistic Advisers:  Agron Demi, Julia Wissert, Tom Mustroph, Catherine Kennedy, Riza Krasniqi | Fundraising Support: Sven Skoric | Lights: Mursel Bekteshi | Sound: Bujar Bekteshi | Coordination: Flaka Rrustemi | Promotion: Florida Kastrati| Wardrobe Attendant: Arbresha Caka.

Co-produced by: 

Qendra Multimedia (Prishtina, Kosovo), The Market Theatre (Johannesburg, South Africa), São Luiz Teatro Municipal (Lisboa, Portugal), Teatro Della Pergola(Firenze, Italy), Theater Dortmund (Dortmund, Germany), Black Box teater (Oslo, Norway), Mittelfest (Cividale del Friuli – Italy).  In cooperation with: Ruimtetijd (The Netherlands), La MaMa (New York, USA), Gjilan City Theatre (Gjilan, Kosovo), Sens Interdits Festival (Lyon, France).