DIJANA MILOSEVIC PERFORMANCE - Q&A

Discussion: Professor Sanja Bahun and Dr Dušan Radunović speak with Dijana Milosevic about 25 Glasses of Wine

This conversation occurred immediately after Dijana Milosevic’s performance of her autobiographical piece 25 Glasses of Wine at the Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex.  The piece was an intricate tapestry of stories and memories of Dah Teatre over the 25 years of its existence, punctuated by the presentation of glasses of wine to members of the audience – an action that took on special resonance when Dijana passed these offerings to other members of the Ariadne network – and which concluded with all the audience dancing together on a stage scattered with wine and roses. In respect to Dijana’s creative ownership of the piece, we have not included the full performance here, but the ensuing discussion captures the contemplative mood and wistful reflection as Dijana articulates the potency of the past in her present theatre-making.

Dušan Radunović of Durham University opens the discussion as someone who saw Dah Teatre’s work in Belgrade, Serbia in the 1990s, and is joined by Sanja Bahun of University of Essex who combines her expertise into gender studies with her extensive research into the arts and transitional justice. Dušan and Dijana exchange thoughts about what it was like to make art in Serbia during the period of civil war, as well as her relationship to other Balkan theatre-makers and artists working in the period. Sanja and Dijana talk about Dah Teatre’s methodology of reinforcing their activity by working with local activist groups, such as the Women in Black network to collect and amplify the voices of women affected by the conflict. The audience ask for further detail on the content of the performance, the history of the theatre company and their abiding creative philosophy, but there is also a poignant interchange between fellow Ariadne member, Iman Aoun of Ashtar Theatre, and Dijana, where they both reflect on their companies having similarly been in existence for 25 years, typifying it as a simultaneously an agonising, consuming and rewarding experience.