World Premiere of Drama "Alamut" in Salzburg in July
"Alamut" a landmark 1938 novel about radical Islam and political manipulation, has been adapted for theatre and will be put on stage for the first time on 28 July as part of the Salzburg Festival.
The Vladimir Bartol novel has seen a renaissance after the events of September 11, which soon raised the question of how to adapt such a syncretic genre work for the stage or the big screen.
This task was taken up by Dusan Jovanovic, one of the most prolific writers and drama directors of the last decade. It will be directed by Sebastijan Horvat as a co-production of the Drama National Theatre from Ljubljana and the Salzburg Festival.
The big project of the dramatization of "Alamut" was presented at a press conference on Thursday by Dusan Jovanovic, director and art director of SNG Drama Ljubljana Janez Pipan, director of theatre programme for the Salzburg Festival Martin Kusej, and Sebastijan Horvat.
Kusej, the world acclaimed Slovenian director, said he is looking forward to the project. He has included "Alamut" in the programme section entitled "Young Directors' Project", in which the directors will compete for the award - a pen by Max Reinhard and EUR 13,000.
Pipan added that the theatre adaptation of "Alamut" is being handled with great responsibility, and added: "We have engaged our maximum abilities."
When choosing the Slovenian text, no national interests were considered, says Pipan, arguing that "Alamut" is the least Slovenian of all the national literary works. Instead, the conviction that theatre reaches its peak when the artists feel very attached to the text was more significant. According to Pipan, the topic of "Alamut" is thoroughly modern.
Jovanovic did not stick to classical adaptation, but created an autonomous work. He said he realises the controversy and extensiveness of the novel. During the adaptation, Jovanovic tried to avoid projecting terrorism on the Muslims, but instead developed the idea of manipulation with young people, be it Muslims or American soldiers in Iraq.
Sebastijan Horvat is convinced that theatre need not be politically correct: "A theatre play is a space of radical freedom, the important thing is that it dares to reach into the heart of the problem."
Horvat feels Jovanovic's adaptation leaves him enough room for expression through theatrical procedures. Nevertheless, "Alamut" will not be a manifestation of bodies or instruments, but of ideas, added the director.
The play, which according to Jovanovic will not present terrorism in black and white like most media do, will feature among others the actors Igor Samobor, Radko Polic, Marko Mandic, Petra Govc, Jurij Zrnec, Uroš Fuerst, Zvone Hribar and Gorazd Logar.
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