Friends

Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana

Première: 13 December 2013, Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana
Running time 1 hour and 25 minutes. No interval.
 

Original title Tomodachi

Translator Iztok Ilc
Director Mateja Koležnik
Dramaturg Mojca Kranjc
Stage designer Marko Japelj
Costume designer Alan Hranitelj
Composer Mitja Vrhovnik Smrekar
Music coach Mojca Lavrenčič
Language consultant Arko
Stage movement consultant Matija Ferlin
Lighting designer Pascal Mérat

Performed by
Man Gregor Baković
Fiancée Vanja Plut
Fiancée’s brother Tadej Pišek as guest
Grandmother/Grandfather Katja Levstik/Andrej Nahtigal
Father Ivo Ban
Mother Silva Čušin
Elder son Uroš Fürst
Younger son Klemen Slakonja
Eldest daughter Saša Mihelčič
Middle daughter Maša Derganc
Youngest daughter Iva Babić
Middle-aged policeman Vojko Zidar
Young policeman Tadej Pišek as guest

Full of humour and suspense, Friends is a play on the destruction of the individual. A group of people claiming to be a family invade the apartment of a young Man with the intention of staying in it. The family – consisting of a mother, a father, a grandmother, three daughters and three sons – decides to save the young Man from "solitude”. In reality they want to make use of his money and, if everything turns out lucky, involve him in further business. Shocked by the unusual invasion, the young Man tries to convince them to leave, but reason is completely useless against their "benevolent” persistence.
Kōbō Abe is an almost forgotten name in our parts, although when it comes to literary power he is one of the most interesting and relevant post-WWII Japanese writers. Abe’s perpetual theme – the conflict between the individual and the society, that is, the organised group – is manifest in Friends. What is interesting is that for Abe pure individuality is not the answer: according to his conviction, an individual cannot thrive in loneliness. Thus the Man’s decision to succumb to fate in Friends cannot be interpreted as simple resignation but rather as a step forward in personal growth ...

Photo: Peter Uhan

Photo: Peter Uhan

Photo: Peter Uhan

Photo: Peter Uhan