Premiere: 26 April 2024
“We are all nihilists,” stated Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, one of the greatest Russian writers of all time, in response to the social processes of his homeland during the last third of the 19th century. However, in this case the term “nihilist” does not refer to the Nietzschean metaphysical negation, but rather to a distinctly Russian phenomenon—the revolutionary movement of the “sons” who, through critical examination, rejected the traditions of the “fathers” generation.
For example, the movement depicted by the “gang of five” in one of his major novels, Demons, serves as the point of departure for Macedonian director Dejan Projkovski’s exploration of the human soul, much like the author’s own forays. Projkovski is intrigued by the question of how, just as sacred music can distinguish the angelic from the demonic by a quarter tone, plucking certain strings within a person can turn them from an “angel” into a “demon.” He investigates how a movement, initially aimed at improving society, could lead its participants to become bloodthirsty killers, monstrous beings that devour both themselves and their ideals through the misinterpretation of the guiding ideologies.
As to whether there is a way out of this state of mind, whether it is possible to recreate the angel in humanity, is something Projkovski presents on stage as a journey through heart and soul.
Director: Dejan Projkovski
