SARAJEVO
SARAJEVO: WHEN THEATRE STOPS FEELING LIKE THEATRE A haunting descent into love, war, betrayal, sexual violence and the unbearable intimacy of witnessing There are plays you watch. There are plays you experience. And then there are plays that make you question the morality of sitting in a theatre seat at all. SARAJEVO belongs to the last category. I walked into Theatre on the Square in Sandton knowing that I was going to see an award-winning play. I knew the reputation. I knew the Naledi Awards had crowned it four times. I knew it had been celebrated for its writing, direction and performances. I did not know that I would leave feeling as though I had witnessed something I was never supposed to see. There is a warning waiting for you before you enter the auditorium: “WARNING: THE PLAY DEPICTS THEMES OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE AND THEMES OF AN ADULT NATURE.” Believe it. The warning is not decorative theatre etiquette. It is a door. Behind that door are...