The world premiere play is starting from the 09th till the 13th of April!
It is 1943, and the Albanian population, in an extraordinary act, refuse to comply with the German occupation's orders to turn over Jews who have fled there for safety. What is more, many of these Albanians are Muslim. The assistance afforded to the Jews was grounded in BESA, a code of honor, which still today serves as the highest ethical code of the century.
In this 60 minute play, we join an Albanian family who hosts two Jews fleeing from neighboring Greece. Witnessing the extent to which BESA influences their choices, the everyday struggles of a family, and the boundless relationship between Albanian Muslim and Jews, we are reminded in this story how politics usurps honor in the 21st century, and migration is not a luxury, but a necessity to survive.
Content warnings: reference to Suicide, racial slurs, rape, death and war reference.
For more info deinsomniistheatre@hotmail.com
Rob Adams +447905922563 |redheadman@hotmail.co.uk
Elona Gagani +447447860572 |elonagagani@gmail.com
REVIEW: BESA De Insomniis Theatre at Drayton Arms 31 October – 4 November 2023
Robert Lanachan • Nov 05, 2023
‘a relevant play to put on at the moment’ ★★★★
A little late to start but that’s okay at the Drayton Arms as you have to walk across the acting space to get to the seats, so it was just as well that they waited until everyone had arrived. And it looked like they were expecting a full house. Many of the audience members speaking in a foreign tongue suggested to me that they were aware of something about this play that I was not. Indeed, some of the cast members were from Albania and the title of the play BESA is a code of honour within that community. So it looked like friends and family were here to lend support to the cast.
The story, a well written one at that, centers around the Nazi invasion of the Balkan Peninsular during the Second World War. It shows how the Albanians, in this case a Muslim family, aided in the escape of two Jews fleeing persecution.
Elenor Gagani in the role of the traditionalist mother figure gives a solid performance. Imposing an air of calm over her two bickering children, she tries hard to protect them in the difficult times during the war and afterwards. Laurent Zhubi does well to play two roles, the son and the fishmonger. The quick change of shirt colour being the obvious difference between the two but a masterful control of body language and deportment shows off his accomplished acting skills. Loresa Leka plays the independent daughter Merushe very well, at loggerheads with her mother as she struggles to break out of the mould. Initially by studying to become a doctor then later by rebelling against the attempts to tie her down to a marriage she knows she will not be content with.
The pace was a little ponderous at first with a few lines hesitant and quiet. However, the cautious delivery of information by the father, played by Klodian Merriman, pushed the storyline on and added tension. His nervousness was palpable, which was just what the play needed at this point. His portrayal of the stoic but friendly patriarch rounded off our Albanian family very nicely and the interaction between all four gave a sense of familiarity. Something you would expect between people living together.
The Italian army bungled the invasion of the Balkans, so the Germans were sent in, to sort things out and it is at this stage where the refugees enter the story. Roy Scintei playing Jakov, whose dream was to become a singer in America, had the audience in stitches with the embarrassed rendition of a love song he writes for Merushe. And Shiri Noa fitted in well as the timid sister. A few simple costume additions dated the piece back in the 1940s and the air raid was acted out in slow motion, reminiscent of a Guy Ritchie film. The father gets shot helping the Jews escape after Jakov falls in love with Merushe and gets her pregnant. He does rather heroically return after the war to marry her and take her and his daughter off to live happily ever after in the land of the free.
With the horrors of was very present in our minds at this time this seems a relevant play to put on at the moment. It shows that cooperation between Muslims and Jews is a lesson we should take to heart. Or in fact amongst all the people in the world. Unfortunately though it may be another case of history repeating itself, albeit ironically with the shoe being on the other foot this time round.
Winston Churchill, and I’m not a big fan had one thing very profound to say about this kind of situation, “the one thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history”. Let’s hope he was wrong.
De Insomniis Theatre
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Reviewed by Robert McLanachan
Review: BESA De Insomniis Theatre at the Drayton Arms 09-13th of April 2024
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- By Richard Beck
- 13th Apr 2024
- ★★★★
What an extraordinary and charming play this is, courtesy of De Insomniis Theatre. From the intriguing title to the remarkable story and the sincere performances, Besa captivates in such a way that any weaknesses or shortcomings are easily easily forgiven and in many cases they become endearing features that add to the rustic simplicity of the piece.
An extraordinary and charming play
Elona Gagani is the company’s founder and artistic director. Born in Albania, she grew up in Florence. Hence she wrote Besa in her first language, Italian, and then translated into Albanian and English. It is based on the brave actions of her grandfather who rescued Jewish refugees escaping from Greece in WWII.
It’s 1943, and the predominantly Muslim Albanian population has refused to comply with the orders of the occupying forces to hand over Jews who have fled there for safety. What the Germans have not taken into account is the centuries old tradition of besa, that is deeply rooted in the mindset of the people. It’s a difficult concept to define, but it brings together the ideas of faith and action in a code of honour that must be obeyed and acted upon.
The upstairs theatre at the Drayton Arms provides a suitably confined setting in which to create the sparsely furnished yet intimate home. Here the family gathers and we witness the teasing friction between brother and sister Agimi (Laurent Zhubi) and Merusha (Loresa Leka), who is studying medicine. Meanwhile, Elenor Gagani takes the role of their mother, who focuses on feeding the family and passing on the traditions of their culture, especially when it comes to marriage. Her husband, Besim (Klodian Merriman), somewhat more strictly admonishes the children for their antagonistic behaviour towards each other. Together, he and his wife strive to maintain peace between their son and daughter.
He is also explains to his children the responsibilities that besa places upon them, when a Jewish brother and sister, Jakov (Ethan Richardson) and Sandra (Shiri Noa) arrive in town in search of a safe haven. This is also the cue for a developing love story between Merusha and Jakov who increasingly usurps the position of Flamuri (Laurent Zhubi, doubling in this role), who is madly in love with Merusha, but whose amorous advances are not reciprocated. A safe passage to the USA, via Italy, is found for the Jewish refugees, but not before a major tragedy strikes, while the romances are resolved with the passage of time.
Performances are mixed, but this is essentially an ensemble work with a profound message, and those performing in their second or third language with an array of accents bring a sense of location to the piece that might otherwise be lacking. A couple of things don’t work particularly well. The elements of physical theatre sit uncomfortably in this otherwise naturalistic play and add nothing to the story. As my friend said, “Dancing with chairs is to be avoided at all costs”. Other movement sequences seem redundant and the mourning scene over the coffin, when we already know of the person’s death, is overstretched. With just a little more editing the play could run smoothly in one act, the disruptive interval could be scrapped and the events could run and with heightened intensity. What adds enormously to the mood is Cleo Queene, the solo violinist, who uses the instrument’s lower register to hauntingly accompany the story with tunes rooted in the region.
Besa is an uplifting play that demonstrates how life could be if only all nations had the code of honour that in this case brought Muslim Albanians and Jews together and enabled them to toast each other in peace with “Gëzuar” and “L'chaim”. This, in a devastatingly divided region riddled with generations of conflict rooted in ethnic and religious differences. It also the highlights the plight of refugees, reminding us that migration in such circumstances is not a luxury but a necessity in the struggle to survive.
https://broadwaybaby.com/shows/besa/807625
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