Workshop and Demonstration Performance of the Intermedial Work “A Break from History” at Pogon

This workshop is an introduction to the preparation of a new version of the well-known and multi-awarded play by the Shadow Casters, “A Break from History” – which takes place on Friday, November 26, and Saturday, November 27, in the Great Hall of Pogon – Zagreb Center for Independent Culture and Youth (Pogon Jedinstvo, Trnjanska struga 34, Zagreb).

The workshop will provide an opportunity for young actors, dramaturges, and other performance creators to participate. It will feature a deconstruction workshop and a performance lecture about the play on Friday and Saturday, November 26 and 27. This will cover the genesis of the project, historical and artistic context, work dynamics, and conditions of work/financing/production, a critical view on the reception and (non)acceptance of the performance in the local context, the success of the play in domestic and international markets, the methodology of working on the play, analysis of the porous dramaturgy of the play, joint construction of the set design, and technical setup (original and new, alternative solutions).

The deconstruction workshop will culminate in the performance of several fragments of the play for an interested audience on Saturday, November 27, at 7 PM.

Entrance to the performance is free with prior reservation on the Pogon website. Besides the reservation, a COVID certificate of vaccination, recovery, or a recent negative test is required for entry. The number of seats is limited.

“A Break from History” is a theatrical and multimedia performance, an experiential sensory journey that takes place on the borderline between dream and reality, where the audience – deprived of the usual theatrical ritual – participates with their whole being. It explores taking a break from the historical context in a very specifically designed performance space that resembles a hospital field station where the audience watches, listens, and follows the performance from their beds, which unfolds all around them. The offered journey is passive and serene, almost melancholic, providing space for each viewer to see a part of their own forgetfulness.

“A Break from History” travels on the edge of collective and individual consciousness, through the realm of childhood and dreams, and converses with death as the only certain refuge from history.

Concept of the project “A Break from History” and this workshop: Boris Bakal

Workshop leaders for the project “A Break from History”: Boris Bakal and Stanko Juzbašić

Workshop collaborators for the project “A Break from History”: Marija Georgiev, Veno Mušinović, Mare Šuljak

Logistics and organization of the workshop for the project “A Break from History”: Zvonimir Bešlić

Shadow Casters are a multi-awarded and acclaimed international artistic and production platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, creativity, and reflection on intermedial arts, successfully and seamlessly intertwining international cooperation, film, theatrical performances, urban intermedial projects, activism, pedagogical work, video art, and curatorial practice into comprehensive artistic activity.

Dramaturgy and direction of the play “A Break from History” (2008): Katarina Pejović and Boris Bakal

Authors-performers of the original 2008 performance: Bojan Navojec, Jelena Lopatić, Damir Klemenić, Marija Škaričić, Katarina Pejović, Stanko Juzbašić, and Boris Bakal

Set design: Željko Zorica-Šiš and Boris Bakal

The play “A Break from History” toured from 2008 to 2015 in several cities across Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (MESS Award), Serbia (BITEF Award), and Romania. In 2022, it was invited for a tour in North Macedonia.

Sponsors of the play “A Break from History”: The Ministry of Culture and Media.