THE PLAY
About a year before her passing, Vesna Parun published a summary of her oeuvre titled I, Who Have Hands More Innocent. In the foreword of this comprehensive, asynchronous selection, Vesna asserted: “…alongside this river of language, another one – silent, unmarked, and motherly – flows from the same source and in the same direction. This river is life itself. This is myself and my destiny as a cosmic enigma, ethnic equation, bio-spiritual chaos.”
“The moral seriousness of Parun’s poetry is well-served by a dignified performance. Vesna Tominac Matačić is emotionally intense whilst studiously avoiding histrionics. Her shockingly direct addresses to the audience dispel barriers of language and wonderfully conveys Parun’s full personhood in its guilt-ridden, erotic, and playful complexity.”
“Matacic – wearing white robes and standing over a map of the world – is a fierce and engaging presence and the show leaves you eager to learn more about Parun, her world and her words.”
“The language is strong, and it’s clear that Parun took no prisoners in her search to speak the truth about her life. Matacic is more than up to the demands of the role.”
“… powerfully embodied…”
” ‘I, Who Have Hands More Innocent’ is a riveting spiritual experience, and utterly, utterly enthralling.”
“Vesna Tominac Matačić’s performance is without fault and deserves much praise and attention, holding an audience’s attention whilst alone on stage is no mean feat, even more so when doing so across language barriers.”
“An intelligent play that demands all of your attention in order to keep up with its tireless pace, you may find yourself coming back again just to fully take in the hour’s passage upon the stage.”
“Frenetic, captivating, and sublime – ‘I, Who Have Hands More Innocent’ is my favorite show in a very long time.”
“Vesna Mataĉić’s delivery of this vocally and physically demanding role is remarkable, as is fact that the two artistic mediums augment one another so well.”
“Go see.”
VESNA PARUN
The greatest Croatian poetess, often compared to Ana Akhmatova; unlike Akhmatova, however, the language in which Vesna Parun wrote is spoken by a population smaller than that of a neighbourhood in Moscow. There is almost no man or woman in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia or Montenegro who has not been marked by her verses in one way or the other.
Her creative period was as long as half a century. She lived in resistance to any kind of hypocrisy, and openly criticized immoral authorities.
She showed exceptional empathy toward the suffering of the weak, degraded, powerless and forgotten, and often raised her voice in their name. She herself remained on the margins of society by rejecting convention, and was often deliberately omitted and unjustly neglected in the cultural circles of her own country. Nevertheless, her work remains one of the most valuable features of Croatian cultural identity.
PARTNERS
