Skopje, 8 October 2023 (MIA) - The play "Othello" by Ukrainian director Oksana Dmitriieva, based on William Shakespeare's classical drama, will close the 2023 RUTA festival at the Drama Theater in Skopje on Sunday. 

The play is a co-production project of Bosnia and Herzegovina's "Sarajevo War Theatre" and Croatia's "Ulysess Theatre". 

The cast includes Ermin Bravo, Alban Ukaj, Ana Marija Brđanović, Davor Sabo, Maja Salkić, Jasenko Pašić, Snežana Bogićević, Adnan Kreso and Mak Čengić. 

Speaking at Sunday's press conference, the cast mentioned the process of creating the play, the timelessness of "Othello" and the post-traumatic syndrome of people who have participated in military actions. It was pointed out that what the region and Sarajevo went through in the nineties, Kiev in the past year, and what people in Israel and the Gaza Strip are going through these days, leaves far-reaching traumas for many generations.

The cast expressed their gratitude for the cooperation with director Dmitriieva and her team from Ukraine, pointing out that she had proposed "Othello" as a story about a hero who must continue to live in a peacetime environment after the war.

The play premiered in Brijuni in July, following the premiere in Sarajevo, and tonight "Othello" closes the 2023 RUTA festival in Skopje. 

This year's RUTA festival included six performances by RUTA members and several theater co-productions. 

Photo: Drama Theater Skopje