We are a shadow of ourselves.
At least one ancient Greek argued that the only right thing to do is to crawl out of oneself and take the path of discovery. But what when it's so comfortable inside... Well, or at least safe. But what lurks beyond the known? Yes, there is more and more knowledge as humanity reaches further and wider. But the streams of information are increasingly personalised, algorithm-driven torrents that overwhelm us and alienate us from other people, sometimes even from reality. It's more comfortable than ever to stay in the cave, to make it our own and stick to our theology.
A contemporary interpretation of that popular Plato's of the cave explores, through physical theatre and puppet animation, the social and psychological shackles that bind us to the world of shadows. Who or what is keeping us in the grip, keeping us from moving, from going to a better, more beautiful place? And what is actually more beautiful and better? When does discussing the metaphysical become an obstacle to the practical good?
About the director
Inan Sven Du Swami, born on January 3rd, 1994 in Ljubljana, graduated in Psychotherapeutic Science from Sigmund Freud University in 2019, earning a Bachcalaureus in Psychotherapeutic Science (BA pth.). After his studies, he continued his education at the Lezarti'cirque Institute in Switzerland, where he studied contemporary partner acrobatics in tandem with Mojca Špik. His current work is in the field of movement arts, mainly in the field of contemporary partner acrobatics and circus, dance, choreography and physical theatre. He regularly uses the method of psychoanalysis as a tool to explore artistic material. He regularly participates in workshops and collaborates in circus cabarets, performing with artists from Cirque du Soleil, Les7Doigts, Compagnie Ici'bas, Un loup pour l'homme. The performances in which he has participated have toured to various festivals and have been the subject of numerous awards, reviews and publications. In 2023, he was awarded the Collective Borštnik Award for his performance En K te gleda. In the same year, the performance Evolucija. won the Best Production Award at the Pikin Festival. The performance Dečki Pavlove ulice (2020), directed by Matjaž Pograjc, was elected for the selection of the Zlata paličica. LED - Mehatronske skulpture, in which he collaborated with costume designer Iztok Hrga, was also included in this selection. In 2019, he received two awards for his performance Iz Kokona in the production of the Glej theatre: the Visionary Award for Collective Stage Performance and the Gold Award for the performance Iz Kokona. In Slovenia, he has performed and participated on the stages of Cankarjev dom, Anton Podbevšek teater, Glej theatre, Sng Nova Gorica, Slg Celje, Kud France Prešeren, Stara mestna elektrarna, Prešernovo gledališče Kranj.
About the author
Zala Mojca Jerman Kuželički saw the light of day for the first time on 30th April 1990 and immediately started looking for the stage spotlight. She was especially influenced by her time at the Barica Blenkuš Drama School under the mentorship of Lucija Ćirović. After completing her Master's degree in Linguistics, she returned to her first love. She has co-created three award-winning performances in the framework of the StudenTeater organised by Glej Theatre (Une druge tri sestre [2017]: visionary for the best overall performance, Predstava po Doris [2018]: visionary for the most innovative original project, Iz kokona [2019]: visionary for collective stage performance and gold award). She has also collaborated with Glej Theatre as a theatre mentor in the international project 4ID. As a dancer and co-creator she has collaborated extensively with the Studio for Contemporary Dance, and has recently been working more as a dramaturg (with Ana Cvelfar on the performance O praznih prostorih [2020] and Urša Rupnik on the performance Iz/najdena [2023]). In 2020 she was selected for the project Nova branja under the organisation of the Slovene National Theatre Drama, which culminated in a reading performance of her one-act play Tišina, prosim at the Little Drama (directed by Mojca Madon).
