Co-produced by: Qendra Multimedia (Pristina/Kosovo), Royal District Theatre (Tbilisi/Georgia), Örnproduktion (Stockholm/Sweden), Theatre on Pechersk (Kyiv/Ukraine), Albanian Theatre Skopje (Skopje/North Macedonia), Malmö Stadsteater (Malmö/Sweden), Dramaten (Stockholm/Sweden) and Göteborgs Stadsteater (Gothenburg/Sweden)
by: Davit Gabunia and Jeton Neziraj | directed by: Data Tavadze | Actors: Ellen Jelinek, Kateryna Kisten, Kato Kalatozishvili, Maria Salomaa, Johannes Wanselow, Shkëlqim Islami | Producer: Anders Öhrn | Composer: Nikoloz Pasuri | Stage, Light & Video: Ludde Falk | Assistant Director: Orges Karaga | Production Management: Aurela Kadriu | Coordination & Tour Manager: Flaka Rrustemi | Communication & Logistics: Florida Kastrati | Light & Sound Technicians: Bujar Bekteshi, Ibrahim Xhemaili, Mursel Bekteshi
| Visuals: project GRAPHICS | Video Promotionals and Filming: Besim Ugzmajli
UNRECOGNIZED brings together six performers from Ukraine, Georgia, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden. The performance revolves around the myth of Tauris — the ancient land associated with present-day Crimea, described by the ancient Greeks as distant and hostile, at the edge of “their world.”
Drawing on the myth of Iphigenia in Tauris, UNRECOGNIZED moves between ancient stories and contemporary experiences of war, displacement, contested borders and belonging. Documentary material, personal testimony, fiction and humor meet onstage, asking who has the power to name a foreigner, draw a border, recognize a country — or leave it unrecognized.
Written by Davit Gabunia (Georgia) and Jeton Neziraj (Kosovo), the performance looks at Europe from places too often described as its margins. Here, war, occupation and displacement are not ghosts of the past, but realities of the present — and the question of who belongs, who is sacrificed and who gets to decide remains unresolved.
“UNRECOGNIZED begins with a simple question: what happens to a human being when their home, their history, or even their existence is no longer recognized? We look at bodies caught between borders, wars, and political decisions – bodies that are used, exploited, and sacrificed, again and again, as the material from which states and nations are built or wiped out, borders are drawn, territories are claimed, political and religious powers are strengthened, and collective identities and national myths are sustained. For me, this performance is an attempt to return those bodies their names, their memories, and their right to be seen.” — Data Tavadze
ON TOUR IN 2026
10 October — First opening in Skopje, North Macedonia
12 October — Gjilan, Kosovo
13 October — Prishtina, Kosovo
5 November — Tirana, Albania
8 November — Prizren, Kosovo
13–15 November — Malmö Stadsteater
18 November — Göteborgs Stadsteater
21–22 November — Dramaten
25–27 November — Tbilisi, Georgia
1–4 December — prel. in Kyiv or Lviv, Ukraine
Further tour dates for 2027 and 2028 to be announced soon.
This project is financially supported by Swedish Institute.
International distribution: [email protected] / www.qendra.org.
