“I love you
the way
you are”
For many years there were things that remained unspoken of between mother, father and son. Now the homosexual son has grown up, has moved as far away as possible, but decides to visit the family home. After all, he loves and needs his parents and hopes that this time they can communicate honestly with each other. The parents also love their son, and they would love him even more if they only knew what exactly the mistake was, what the reason was and who really is to blame for the fact that their child is not “like the rest of the normal world” …
“Our Son” is an incredibly clever, intimate, poetic, humorous and sometimes tragic play about parents who simply cannot find a way to accept the identity of their gay son. The 30-year-old Croatian director Patrik Lazić, one of the most talented theatre producers of the younger generation, developed the autobiographically influenced play for the Belgrade production house Heartefact. By subtly interweaving fiction and reality, Lazić shares one individual`s process of emancipation with the audience. Situations full of comedy, irony, jokes, injuries, fears, missed opportunities, astonishment and unexpected insights emerge. The premiere took place in the unusual setting of a private flat in Belgrade. The audience and the actors sat in the same living room, smelling the soup and lasagne that the mother served her son. However, in the adaptation for the theatre stage, which will be shown at the asphalt Festival, the audience surrounds the actors on three sides, which therefore also conveys a similar intimacy.
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What the press says:
“Moving and funny play” (The Guardian)
“Artistically potent, exciting, strong… Thanks to the successful direction, the timelines are masterfully fused together – the then and the now. The theme is homosexuality, but it is the artistic and theatrical fullness of the play that shines far beyond the subject.” (Tanja Nježić, Blic)
“‘Our Son’ is an interesting scenic exploration of how tolerance and intolerance are not simple and one-sided. The same person can be tolerant on one issue, but ultimately intolerant on another.” (Marina Milivojević Mađarev, Vreme)
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Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of NRW
With Dragana Varagić (mother), Aleksandar Đinđić (father) and Amar Ćorović (son).
Text & direction: Patrik Lazić
Production management: Aleksandra Lozanović
Production: Heartefact Theatre
Photos: Milena Arsenić
Visual design: Miroslav Živanov
