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

Directed by: Blerta Neziraj (Kosovo)

Author: Jeton Neziraj (Kosovo) | Dramaturg: Greg Homann (South Africa)

Stage designer: Theun Mosk | Ruimtetijd (The Netherland) | Composer: Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu (South Africa) | Choreographer: Jochen Roller (Germany)|Costume designer: Blagoj Micevski (North Macedonia).

PRESS NIGHT: 17 & 18 October, Gjilan City Theater, Gjilan, Kosovo, 8pm

Performed in English

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).

About the production:

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 ths 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 forgivness 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, in South Africa in June 2026 and be performed in New York in March 2027.

“As the Market Theatre, we are drawn to stories that confront uncomfortable truths with nuance and imagination. Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept resonates with our commitment to holding space for memory, justice, and healing. This collaboration offers a powerful opportunity to explore reconciliation not as a fixed destination, but as a deeply human and often painful journey shaped by who gets to speak, who listens, and what is remembered.” - Greg Homann, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre Foundation, Johannesburg

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The show will be directed by Blerta Neziraj, whose productions for Qendra Multimedia have toured internationally to places including Lausanne, Milan, Vienna, Firenze, Hamburg, Lyon, Sarajevo, Bern, Paris and New York. As an alumna of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab, she has been directing shows in Kosovo and internationally. She has received various prices and awards, locally and internationally, including the "Best show" at the 56th Kontrapunkt International Festival (Poland, 2022) and "The Best show" at FIAT (Montenegro, 2023). The Guardian described her as "one of the country’s leading directors.", while The Stage described her shows as “uncompromising…  necessary…  bold and powerful”.  

The play is written by Jeton Neziraj, who has written over 20 plays. His plays have won numerous prizes and have been performed in theatre festivals throughout Europe and in the US and he has been described by German theatre magazine Theater der Zeit as the ‘Kafka of the Balkans’ 

Dramaturg will be Greg Homann, who is the current Artistic Director of the iconic Market Theatre Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has been a leading figure in the South African theatrical landscape for well over a decade. His influential work as a director, dramaturg, and playwright includes award-winning and imaginative theatre across a wide range of forms.

Contact us at [email protected],  if you want to know tour details for 2025, 2026 and 2027