A Woman Who Remembers Italy: A Poetic Journey Through Eight Decades of the Republic

The play is titled "A Woman Called Republic", based on a text by a professor Teresa Albano, will be performed tonight, at 19 pm, in the DODEST hall of the KIC “Budo Tomović” in Podgorica. It is a poetic and emotional stage story that takes the audience through eight decades of the history of the Republic of Italy.

Through the voice of the woman he interprets Aleksandra Brajović, Republic - transformed into a human being from blood, memories and emotions, and through the narrator's voice Anđelika Zogović, opens before the audience a journey from 1946 and the referendum that gave birth to modern Italy, to the present day in which the Republic celebrates eighty years of existence.

"The play particularly highlights the moment when Italian women first gained the right to vote - a historic moment in which not only a new state was born, but also a new voice for women in society. From that moment on, the play continues to pulsate through the turbulent decades of Italian history: through post-war reconstruction, the 'lead years', migrations, social breakdowns and the quiet changes that shaped contemporary Italy. All of this is not presented as a cold historical reconstruction, but as an intimate memory of a woman who carries within herself the voice of the Republic, its fears, hopes and duration," Professor Albano tells "Vijesti".

At the center of the play, as he explains, is the word itself - simple, stripped down, and powerful.

"Every sentence carries the weight of time, every pause the echo of a century. That's why the focus is not on grand scenographic effects, but on the emotion created by the spoken word and the atmosphere that slowly creeps into the audience, leaving a strong and silent mark," says the author of the text.

The text, as the author points out, was created almost by chance, as a kind of ode and homage to the native country, out of the desire to awaken the Italian audience's memory of the important moments experienced by the Republic of Italy, but also to arouse curiosity and a desire among the Montenegrin audience to get to know Italy more deeply and differently, not only through fashion, cuisine, music or popular culture.

"The original idea was for it to be a text intended for newspapers or written format, with no ambition to become a stage play. However, the idea for the play was born spontaneously, during conversations with course participants at the Italian Cultural Center in Podgorica, who accepted the project with great enthusiasm and a desire to bring it to life on stage. A special value to this project is the fact that the actors on stage are not professional actors, but rather course participants at the Italian Cultural Center in Podgorica. This is precisely where the authenticity of the play lies - in people who have found a space of togetherness and artistic expression through language and culture," Albano points out.

At the same time, as he states, this project also represents a great challenge for all participants, because it is a complex and extensive text that is performed entirely in Italian, with subtitles in Montenegrin.

"For people who are not professional actors, learning such a demanding text by heart and conveying it to the audience with emotion and confidence is a great feat and an experience that goes beyond a simple stage performance. In this way, the Italian Cultural Center in Podgorica confirms that its work goes far beyond language teaching and translation, building a bridge between Montenegro and Italy through art, encounters and co-creation," says Professor Albano.

A great contribution to the overall atmosphere of the show was made by Stefan Radovic, dedicated to the project's sound and visual identity, music, recordings and all those details that invisibly shape the emotion of a performance.

"'A Woman Called Republic' is not just a story about a country. It is a story about time passing, about women who remember, about a society that changes, and about a voice that endures despite everything. The audience can expect an evening filled with emotion, memory, and the quiet power of words," the author of the text states.

Admission to tonight's performance in the DODEST hall is free.