Fugitives
The play ‘Fugitives’ will be performed at the Hall 1 of the Novi Sad Fair on 4 March at 20h, within the Migration of Souls programme unit. The project is carried out by the Association of Art Students 23, together with the ‘AkustikUm’ Association, Music Youth JMBH from Tuzla and the Academy of Arts and Culture from Osijek.
‘Fugitives’ is an optimistic theatre piece that examines case studies of young people who have emigrated from the country (region) as a way of clarifying the conditions and reasons for migration, stems the tide of future migrations and promotes the practice of leaving one’s country with the goal of returning and enriching the local environment.
Lots of fun, dynamics, intrigue, love, arguments, quarrels, and songs await you, all with the goal of asking ourselves together what kind of world/society/country/community is the one from which we would not have the desire to escape.
Migrations in the region increased significantly after the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. A study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation shows that two-thirds of young people wish to leave the country, citing primarily economic reasons, but also a ‘pessimistic view of the future of Serbian society’. The problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia are similar: not one of them has a solid plan for preventing brain drain.
In order to strengthen the regional dimension and a comparative view of the problem of migration, the Association of Art Students 23 from Novi Sad joined forces in this endeavour with the ‘AkustikUm’ Association – Music Youth JMBH from Tuzla and the Academy of Arts and Culture from Osijek (Croatia). The preparatory work for this performance is focused on communication between young independent artists and people who have emigrated, so as to arrive at the real motivations and experiences that will provide the basis of the drama. The goal of the project is to move people – not to leave, but rather to push back against the role of passive observer and fight for an active role in the society where they live.
Residents are encouraged to respond to open calls and recommend their loved ones who have emigrated, in order to create a deeper connection to the story.
Young citizens, particularly those with a strong stance for or against migration, will be invited to give interviews so that their views will be included in the performance, and they will be able to better relate to the content.
The performance itself will migrate – not only will it play in Novi Sad, but also in Croatia at the National Theatre of Osijek and the National Theatre of Sarajevo.
Tickets are on sale in the entire Gigstix sales network and on their website, as well as at the Novi Sad Fair ticket office, where tickets for all events will be sold between 5 and 8 p.m. Although the seating arrangements will shift during the show, the spectators will have access to their seats at all times.
Partner of the Migration of Souls programme is the Novi Sad Fair, and the companies Globos osiguranje and Dijamant DOO also provided support.