Anja Suša » Anja Suša | » Maja and Me and Maja

PICTURE BOOK ABOUT MAJA

ivanvuksanov — Mon, 18 May 2015 21:38:44 +0000

By Nenad Obradović
E-novine, June, 2012

The picture book about Maja, a feeble echo of our past, offers, through the performance Maja and I and Maja, an incentive for further reflection on the culture of memory but also of the present moment which is dominated by carelessness and indifference. That is how the performance moves from creative and carefree story about Maja towards the topics of hate, homophobia and war crimes, reminding of the Batajnica mass graves with Albanian victims. Thereby this performance becomes an ethically relevant, consistent and inspiring one, suitable for contemplation of personal mischief, big historical breakdowns and exerting manipulative power over individuals. As Pierre Bourdieu puts it:“The power to impose and to inculcate a vision of division, that is, the power to make visible and explicit social division that are implicit, is political power par excellence. It is the power to make groups, to manipulate the objective structure of society”.
The performance Maja and I and Maja, relying on the most painful landmarks in personal memories in the context of collective memory and the reality of today, encompasses the long period of “struggle with memory” in an intense and conceptually consistent manner. Not only does the creative team of the performance demystify the process of growing up in the midst of the hell of today, but also brings forth an intimate story about time we are starting to forget although we keep listening about it. The approach used in this performance, the deconstruction of a myth, releases us from that unnecessary burden.

CREATION AND ABOLISHMENT OF MYTHS

ivanvuksanov — Mon, 18 May 2015 21:29:36 +0000

By Ana Tasić
Politika

In terms of idea, the performance directed by Anja Suša, is based on the contradictions and conflict between myth and reality, between an idealized and a realistic reflexion of the world, between nostalgic and sentimental heritage, and the painful reality of family violence, homophobia, privatization, the dilemma of weather to join the EU, electoral frauds, etc. The picture books about Maja are metaphoric case studies, pop-cultural phenomena dating back to the Yugoslav times, and represent the starting point for delving into personal and collective past, for dealing with post-Yugoslav heritage, for critical study of the revived Yugo-nostalgia which seems plain and imaginary, which looks like a part of psychological mechanisms that idealize past, fog up its other side, suppress its dark and yet very real layers. Anja Suša’s performance struggles to keep the memories of that other side alive, of an eternal exposure of the hidden, of facing illusion and mistakes, which is the first step towards overcoming and correcting them.

HIGH SCHOOL OF SARCASM

ivanvuksanov — Mon, 18 May 2015 21:15:21 +0000

Theatre review: MAJA AND I AND MAJA
By Goran Cvetković
30th June, 2012
MAJA AND I AND MAJA – based on the novel by Sreten Ugričić and a series of picture books by Marcel Marlier and Gilbert Delahaye – the text of the performance is written by Milan Marković, directed by Anja Suša – production: Bitef Theatre

HIGH SCHOOL OF SARCASM

I dare say that Anja Suša – after her exceptional performance Spring Awakening – has broken the code for the creation of a new genre – a CRITICAL LECTURE on crime in intimate surrounding.
This performance is a genuine and authentic rebellion against secrets in the family –and then, naturally, in the society and politics as well – in public and secret affairs alike, because all of it, as here we can see, belongs to THE SAME CYCLE… the cycle of evil, callousness, perversion, cruel power which escapes punishment… some sick feeling of being indebted to the history and the tradition, but also the feelings of artificially boosted nationalism and fake patriotism – and all for nothing but personal gain of those who dominate through threat and terror which they exert as the principle result of communication in their surroundings, in the society, in the world… throughout the history! That is turning into model behaviour while those who refuse to accept it turn into dissidents and exiles – the oppressed minority! Spontaneously and eternally! The HORROR of it! … That very terror of life wrapped into colourful lies and disguised in the make-believes created by families in higher and lower society – that is what this excellent performance is about.

SURREAL PICTURE BOOK

ivanvuksanov — Mon, 18 May 2015 21:09:18 +0000

MAJA AND I AND MAJA, Bitef Theatre and De Facto

SURREAL PICTURE BOOK

Novosti
By Bojan Munjin

The performance Maja and I and Maja balances the fine line between childlike innocence, represented by actors dancing in red dresses and white shoes, and the bouts of social fever, existential nonsense, personal betrayals and historical horrors they are facing. The actors keep telling personal stories the way we all sometimes remember our pasts only to have that very childhood shaken up by the horrors of adulthood in the very next scene. The performance resembles a surreal picture book or a cheerful-gloomy puzzle where the actors’ lives get assembled and disassembled, making life similar to a bad joke, to a cruel trick played on human destiny.
Alongside many films filled with critical overtones, discussions, and intellectual events, the excellent performance Maja and I and Maja proves that this year’s Days of Serbian Culture is not a mere folklore event of a national community but a respectable cultural forum dealing with serious issues of our past and our present.