Migrations, Trauma and Otherness in Contemporary Slovenian Theatre

Milija Gluhovic

The paper addresses the politics of difference in the Slovenian public sphere through the prism of several Slovenian performances that address the issues of forced migrations, displacement, otherness and (historical) trauma. Performances under investigation include Janez Janša’s Slovene National Theatre (2007), Oliver Frljić’s Damned Be the Traitor of his Homeland! (2010) and 25.671 (2013) as well as Igor Pison’s The Angel of Oblivion (2014). Often addressing unwelcome knowledge, histories and traumas that have been expunged or sanitised, these pieces demonstrate the power of performance to witness the acts of violence and the volatile realities of social difference and intervene in the Slovenian public advocating social inclusion based on solidarity, justice and ethics.

Milija Gluhovic is an associate professor of theatre and performance at the University of Warwick. His research interests include contemporary European theatre and performance, memory studies and international performance research and pedagogy. His books Performing European Memories: Trauma, Ethics, Politics and Performing the ‘New’ Europe: Identities, Feelings, and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest (with Karen Fricker) were published by Palgrave in 2013. He is currently co-editing two edited collections for Palgrave: Performing the Secular: Performance, Religion, and the Public Sphere and International Performance Research: The Unconditional Discipline?