The world is becoming a cruel place for everyone, and these days the capital of Serbia was the scene of a terrible tragedy that should never have happened. With the Bulgarian artist Biserka Kolevska, who directed the play "Through the Looking Glass", and who took the children on an extremely exciting journey, the conversation began with the question about the importance of telling stories - and which ones...
What kind of stories are we obliged to tell our children?
We must tell children good stories, about good people, tell them good examples from life. We have to tell them about the importance of companionship and having a good friend. And stories about having to believe in themselves. Alice believed in herself and that's why she could go on. "Alice" and stories like it are not only for children, but also for adults. "Alice" is a story with many meanings and many important life sentences. Today in the world you have to run a lot and fast to get to your place, the place that belongs to you. If you don't run, if you don't keep moving forward, you sleep, young people move on, and you sleep at home and nothing will become of you. In our performance, we tried to explain why it is important to think, and we tried to achieve that through visual effects.
What do we adults hide behind the mirror that we shouldn't?
We are afraid to look in the mirror, and it would be good if we were not ashamed to see ourselves in it, because that is the only way we can correct our mistakes. "Alice" is the only natural one and as such she is very visible among all those creatures who are ugly, stupid, evil, useless... Alice is that hope, the canvas on which our imperfection is projected.
Does this human civilization of ours have the strength and will to change that, can arts and culture, for example, do it?
I am very sorry that it is so, but I do not believe it. All of us who work in the theater try to point out that money and power are not important and deciding factors. I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid people have gone completely crazy. Unfortunately, the children have already gone crazy. Currently, I'm staging the play "Peter Pan" and at one point in the play a sentence is heard: If you don't believe that fairies exist, they will disappear, and there will be death. My actors and collaborators are trying to convince the children to believe in magic.