Ada

“Countless times the thought of you screamed out,
But it was a cry unto itself and an echo
”

(Ada Škerl, Shadow in the Heart)

From the directing concept:
“Poet Ada finds herself in a system that destroys and stifles her yearning, her need to express her emotions. The social system into which the spectator enters is reminiscent of a kind of labyrinth from which there is no way out. The labyrinth is inhabited by a 'Minotaur' who lurks in wait for the next victim in the form of her mother, editor, best friend Marta, boyfriend Vladimir and medical student Milan. Ada feels trapped and lost. In Ada's story, the spectator recognises the mirror image of the stories of all artists searching for their expression while the system suffocates them. In order for Ada to find her way out of the labyrinth, she holds in her hands the 'thread of destiny' given to her by the ancient Greek poet Sappho... ”

From the reviews:
“By stretching 'Ariadne's threads' and reaching the breaking point of the thread with Milan's death, director Eva Hribernik reaches a dramaturgical climax by emphasising the social labyrinth in which Ada is entangled. By using four different mini sets, she has successfully resolved Ada's vacillation between the various guides of her destiny.” (Gregor Pompe, Dnevnik, 6 November 2017)

“The imaginative set-up divided the spectator's attention around several small raised stages in the centre of the venue that outlined Ada's labyrinth, in which Katja Konvalinka earnestly and genuinely embodied both the mythic grandeur and the vulnerable humanity of the searching artist. Director Eva Hribernik, together with dramaturge Katja Gorečan, successfully conveys her vision and spans out the moving events in an effective dramaturgical arc. The concept, which is well thought out and implemented, hardly needs the concise justification offered by the playbill, which was nevertheless a pleasure to read.” (Maia Juvanc, Odzven, 14 November 2017)