ZOLTÁN BALÁZS DIRECTS IN KOSOVO
The artist, who has already gained recognition in the Western Balkans with his groundbreaking productions, will be staging the contemporary play Inhuman by Jeton Neziraj and Shpëtim Selmani in Kosovo. After several successful international co-productions – Yvonne, Alice in Bed, The Penelopiad – Zoltán Balázs, representing Maladype Theatre and METTRIN Arts Center Bánk, is working on a joint artistic venture with Quedra Multimedia production company and Bekim Fehmiu City Theatre in Prizren.
The artistic director of Maladype and METTRIN will present Neziraj and Selmani’s collage-like, fragmented text to the multinational festival audience through his well-known exceptional directorial concepts, with the co-operation of Albanian actors and creative collaborators. Quendra Multimedia and Maladype Theatre – inspiring the artists of Bekim Fehmiu City Theatre to explore new directions – have joined forces to create a multidisciplinary production addressing global problems. In the first phase of the multi-stage project, the actors were selected, the linguistic, visual and acoustic concepts were formulated, and the coordination of the cross-border creative work began.
The urgency of creating Inhuman is in the acute relevance of its subject: the harrowing conditions of war and armed conflict, and the individual and collective fates of those unable to escape isolation. Can art have an impact—and if so, how—on human brutality and mercilessness? What processes fuel the dehumanization of our world? How can our civilization resist barbarism and cultural degradation? In what ways can compassion triumph over inhumanity? These are the questions explored by this forthcoming production, which follows Maladype’s unconventional dramaturgy and focuses on collective reflection, cross-linguistic communication, understanding, and human dignity.
After the Prizren premiere, Hungarian audiences will have the chance to see this international co-production at METTRIN Arts Center at the beginning of October.
INHUMAN
Writer: Jeton Neziraj and Shpëtim Selmani
A joint production of the Bekim Fehmiu City Theatre, Qendra Multimedia, Maladype Theatre, and the METTRIN Art Centre
Translated into English by: Alexandra Channer
Translated into Hungarian by: Sylvia Huszár
Directed by: Zoltán Balázs
Players:
Alban Krasniqi
Beslidhje Bytyçi
Valmira Hoti
Hajat Toçilla
Creators:
Director: Zoltán Balázs
Dramaturg: Zoltán Balázs
Set designer: Bekim Korça
Costume designer: Vesa Kraja
Composer/Music director: Memli Kelmendi
Motion sculptor: Balázs Zoltán
Sound: Flamur Krasniqi
Lights: Yann Perreagux
Production managers: Balázs Katalin, Burim Mustafa
Producers: Huszár Sylvia, Aurela Kadriu
Running time: 80 minutes
Opening Night:
19 September 2025, Bekim Fehmiu City Theatre, Prizren, Kosovo
3 October 2025, METTRIN Arts Center, Bánk, Hungary