The playwright Jeton Neziraj has a history of tackling difficult topics. His most recent play Negotiating Peace is testament to this. The play draws on two texts – To End a War, the memoir of the American diplomat Richard Holbrooke, which documents his central role in bringing together the Dayton Agreement, and The General of the Dead Army (Gjenerali i ushtrisë së vdekur), the 1963 novel of the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare – to explore the topic of peace making. It asks the question: what does it mean to make peace? Who are the people charged with negotiating the future of their countries? What compromises must be made to end a war? It is obviously a very resonant topic both in the region and beyond, with Russia’s war with Ukraine and the current, horrific Israeli-Hamas conflict. How will these wars end? How will peace be achieved and what will that peace look like.
And Toto Too is riotously funny and remarkably true, Balkan Bordello arrives at La MaMa from Kosovo, and Gong Lum's Legacy combines romantic comedy with a controversial Supreme Court case.