Cast Set For European Tour of NEGOTIATING PEACE

Rehearsals are underway for Qendra Multimedia’s Negotiating Peace and the pan-European cast has now been announced. This new production from the Kosovo-based company looks at peace negotiations including the Dayton peace agreement, those in Northern Ireland and the Middle East and the still-unresolved talks between Kosovo and Serbia. The production also looks forward to the conclusion of the war between Russia and Ukraine and imagines what the peace talks that take place afterwards might look like. 

Negotiating Peace is being created with artists and theatre groups from Ukraine, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Italy, Czechia, Albania, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland and Estonia. The cast comprises the following performers:  

Shkumbin Istrefi (Kosovo) Born in Prishtina, Istrefi is an actor, film producer and director. He graduated in 1994 from the University of Prishtina, where he has taught diction and speech since 2001. He has performed extensively in Kosovan TV series, films and theatre. His most recent role was in Arbri at the ODA theatre where Negotiating Peace will open. 

Ema Andrea (Albania) studied classical dance and acting in the University of Tirana before going on to further training in Italy, Bulgaria and Denmark. An awarded and celebrated actor and director, Andrea is also one of the founders and executives of the “Memo” Foundation, an organization which processes historical memories, especially the dictatorships of the communist period, through social and artistic events. She is a professor at the University of Arts in Tirana. 

Ejla Bavcic (Bosnia) is a resident actress at the Sarajevo National Theatre. She graduated in 1998 from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo, where she also worked for two years as an assistant to the speech professor. She has played numerous roles in both theatre and film and has received several awards for her performances. 

Martin Kōiv (Estonia) graduated in 2006 from the Estonian National Theater and Music Academy. An actor since childhood, as an 8-year-old, he worked for the Vanemuise Theater in Tartu. Since then he has worked with directors all over the world, counting over 60 roles, in theatre, films and TV series. 

Orest Pastukh (Ukraine) is an actor working in film and theatre as well as a theatre director, writer, playwright and teacher. He graduated from V. Stefanyk Prykarpattia National University and has worked in the theatres of Kolomyia, Khmelnytskyi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Kyiv. Since 2022, he has been worked on the "Imagine UA" project which aims to popularize and support Ukrainian theatre in the City Theatres of Prague. 

Melihate (Meli) Qena (Kosovo) is a pioneering actress and director born in Mitrovica. Now in her 70s, she studied acting at the Academy of Theatre, Film and Television in Belgrade. She begun working for the Radio Television of Pristina when it was founded in 1974 and worked there until the 1990s when it was closed by the Milosevic regime. Alongside her television work, she worked at the Dodona Puppet Theatre in Pristina from 1986 until retirement, debuting as a director with the play Pylli është i të gjithëve [The Mountain Belongs to Everyone].  In 2015, she was given a Lifetime Achievement award by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Qena has performed in numerous plays and films including Martesa [The Marriage], Kësulat [The Headgears] and A dream.  

 
Harald Thompson Rosenstrøm (Norway) is an actor in theatre and film. He studied at Moscow Art Theatre School and has worked as an actor at Gogolcenter in Moscow as well as in France, Russia, Norway and Estonia. He is a former principal At Solbakken Theater school and former curator at Vaaba Laava in Estonia. Harald loves to walk in the mountains. 

Negotiating Peace is written by Jeton Neziraj who has written over 20 plays which have been performed throughout Europe and in the US. It will be directed by Blerta Neziraj whose productions for Qendra Multimedia have toured internationally to Lausanne, Milan, Vienna, Hamburg, Lyon, Bern, and New York, among others 

Speaking about the production, Ukrainian actor Orest Pastukh said "Participation in this project is important for me, especially in the current context of my country, because the material opens up to us those moments after the war process, which usually remain behind the closed doors of diplomatic dialogues. At the same time, it contains the voices of those for whom war is not only a tool or a line from a biography, but also a difficult personal experience, and also once again vividly illustrates the proverbial absurdity not only of certain diplomatic collisions, but also of the phenomenon of war in general." 

Qendra Multimedia is a cultural organization with a growing international reputation based in Prishtina, Kosovo and focused on contemporary theatre and literature. Since 2020 the company has had its own 200 seat theatre (Teatri ODA) in the city center of Prishtina. Qendra is widely considered to be one of the most interesting and provocative theatre companies in South Eastern Europe with performances that are provocative and stir debate among audiences. Qendra has co-produced work with theatre companies across Europe and in the USA, including Volksbühne Berlin, La MaMa New York and the National Theater of Kosovo. Negotiating Peace follows the company’s successful European tour of The Handke Project in 2022 & 2023 and Europe/US tour of Balkan Bordello. The company’s work has been widely featured in international press including the New York Times (USA), The Guardian (UK), Der Spiegel (Germany), La Repubblica (Italy), Theater Heute (Germany), and The Stage (UK). 

Cast and Creative team credits 

Cast: Shkumbin Istrefi (Kosovo), Ema Andrea (Albania), Harald Thompson Rosenstrøm (Norway), Ejla Bavcic (Bosnia and Hercegovina), Martin Kōiv (Estonia), Melihate Qena (Kosovo), Orest Pastukh (Ukraine),   
Written by Jeton Neziraj 

Directed by Blerta Neziraj 

Composer Ardo Ran Varres (Estonia) 
Stage and lighting design: Agata Skwarczyńska (Poland) 

Translator Suzana Vuljevic (USA)  

Costume Designer Blagoj Micevski (North Macedonia) 

Choreography Gjergj Prevazi (Albania) 

Dramaturg:  Mina Milošević   

Video Besim Ugzmajli (Kosovo) 

Lighting design Yann Perregaux (Switzerland), Agata Skwarczyńska (Poland) 

Sound Tempo Reale   

Assistant director Sovran Nrecaj 

Art director Aurela Kadriu  

Development & Fundraising Support Sven Skoric   

International Outreach Maud Dinand   

Tour manager Dejan Jovanović (Serbia)  

Sound Bujar Bekteshi (Kosovo)  

Technical coordinator Lulzim Rexha (Kosovo)  

Production assistant Flaka Rrustemi, Verona Koxha (Kosovo) 

Tour Dates

16 October 2023 | ODA Theatre, Prishtina (Kosovo) https://www.teatrioda.com/  

19 October 2023 | ODA Theatre, Prishtina (Kosovo) https://www.teatrioda.com/ 

20 October | Gjilan City Theatre, Gjilan  (Kosovo) 

21 October | Albanian Drama Theatre, Skopje(Macedonia) 

23 October, City Theater, Ferizaj, (Kosovo)  

25 October | Oda Theatre, Prishtina  https://www.teatrioda.com/ Part of Kosovo Theatre Showcase  

8 & 9 November | euro-scene Leipzig (Leipzig – Germany) www.euro-scene.de/en/  

13 & 14 November | Prague City Theatre 

December tour: Tirana, Prishtina, Novi Sad, Sarajevo 

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