Grief and loss and how we deal with them

The theme of loss, specifically the loss of parents and emotional overeating, and the way people deal with emotions that society often expects to be suppressed, is addressed in the play "The More You Eat, the Emptyer You Become" by a young Montenegrin director. Minje Novakovic.

The play for which the text is signed Katja Faiskus, It premiered on Saturday evening in Podgorica, and was produced by the new stage of the Podgorica City Theater, "Index".

Novaković directed and wrote the play, and after the premiere she pointed out that the play deals with a theme that is universal, but rarely present on theater stages.

"It's interesting that it concerns everyone, but that it hasn't been performed in theaters often. I'm honestly not even sure if this specific topic of losing parents and emotional overeating has been addressed so far. I think this is also an important story for teenagers who are very neglected in theater and I think we should pay more attention to them, because they are simply that neglected group as far as our audience is concerned," she commented.

Speaking about the work process, Novaković emphasizes the special atmosphere that accompanied the creation of the play.

"The approach of this semi-documentary theater brought us absolutely closer, because every rehearsal, I can say with pride, began with the sentence: 'I've never told anyone this'... That's what makes this process special. I believe that art can have healing power and that only such art should live," said the director.

The author of the text, Katja Faišku, comes from Portugal, and said that the play came about from a conversation with the director and a joint exploration of the universal experience of loss.

"When we started talking about this topic, we realized that it is universal - we all have someone we have lost and who means a lot to us. Even though we belong to different cultures and have different approaches to this topic, the feeling of loss is the same. The play is about how society expects us to deal with pain and how each of us has our own, different path through grief," Faišku pointed out.

The set design and lighting design was done by Angela Bozovic, costume design is by Mia Đurović, is a composer Milivoje Picuric, and the choreography is by Masha Kagao Knez. The play features: Vanja Jovićević, Anđelija Rondović, Marta Šćekić, Nevena Penava, Bogdana Kostić i Ivona Rakovic. Tickets for both the premiere and the rerun are sold out in advance.

Actress Anđelija Rondović confirmed after the premiere that the process of working on the play was emotionally demanding.

"Work on the play began with casting, which is great and something I would suggest to other theaters. It was emotionally difficult to the point that Minja suggested that if we needed help, we seek out a psychotherapist. She told us: 'I am not your psychotherapist. Please, if you need help, go and see a professional, because I know that the things that will be revealed here are painful'... I think it is obvious that this play touches us in the most intimate way possible," Rondović emphasizes.

Actress Nevena Penava says that the play opens up space for conversation about emotions that are often kept silent.

"I don't think I was talked about these things much growing up, but we can't ignore the facts around us and everything that's happening. The process was difficult and intense because we started from our personal relationship to these topics, and we don't face them every day, and that just opened up a lot of wounds. They need to be faced. We need to share with each other, because we have nothing without each other. There may not always be a solution, but it's important to talk about emotions," Penava said.

Affirmation of young creators and new poetics and aesthetics

The Index Stage is the new, fourth stage of the Podgorica City Theatre and is conceived as a space intended primarily for young authors, the development of new poetics and contemporary stage languages, but also for opening up space for engaged artistic expression.

Director of the Podgorica City Theatre Sandra Vujović She emphasized the importance of this new scene for the affirmation of a new generation of theater creators.

"The goal of Index Scene is the affirmation of young creators and some new poetics and theatrical aesthetics. I am very happy about this successful premiere. I think we have a generation of young actors and actresses and young authors, who are just coming up and who will be heard about and who will leave a deep mark on the drama scene in Montenegro and beyond," said Vujović.