Mirad - en gutt fra Bosnia* (Mirad – a boy from Bosnia)
Mirad - en gutt fra Bosnia* (Mirad – a boy from Bosnia) by Teater Fusentast (Scatterbrain Theatre) AKA Theatre Fusentast is a story about the 13 year old Mirad and his experiences during the war in Bosnia and as a refugee in another country.
Mirad is confronted with the absurdity and horror of war when the members of his family, a mix of Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croatians, are torn apart.
Mirad’s destiny is conveyed through his uncle Djuka (Bjørn Myrholdt) and aunt Fazila (Coby Comvlee).
*Not yet translated into English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.
Information
(Objekt ID 2227)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | 2002 |
| Produced by | Teater Fusentast (Scatterbrain Theatre) |
| Based on | Mirad - gutten fra Bosnia by Ad de Bont |
| Audience | Children (from 10) |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Keywords | Theatre, Performance for children |
| Running period | 2002 |
| Duration | 45 minutes |
Requirements to venue
| Minimum stage width | 5m |
| Maximum stage width | 5m |
| Minimum stage depth | 6m |
| Maximum stage depth | 6m |
| Minimum stage height | 2m |
| Maximum stage height | 2m |
| Lights requirements | Two searchlights |
| Rigging time | 120 minutes |
| Downrigging time | 30 minutes |
| Audience | 120 |
| Other | Especially well suited for classrooms, not for large gymnasiums. We ask that the stage is not too high as this is an intimate performance. |
Mirad - en gutt fra Bosnia* (Mirad – a boy from Bosnia) by Teater Fusentast (Scatterbrain Theatre) AKA Theatre Fusentast is about Mirad, 13 years old. He lives an ordinary life with his father, mother and little sister. He keeps in touch with his grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins. His mother is a Bosnian Serb, his father a Muslim, an aunt is a Croatian. He happens to be a Muslim, but he could just as well have been a Serb. The same is true for many families around him. He lives in a neighbourhood where nobody seems to care who belongs to which ethnic group. Everybody socialises with everybody else and nobody seems to have a problem with anybody.
From one day to another there is suddenly a war on. Friends become bitter enemies. He can no longer visit Serbian relatives, it is too dangerous. Muslim uncles and aunts are driven from their houses or are in jail. Some are already in exile. Mirad experiences how his father and sister are killed. Nobody knows where his mother is. Is she alive? There are rumours, but are they true?
Mirad thought he knew something about the world. He is, after all, thirteen years old. But now he is alone and he doesn’t understand anything anymore. Everything is dangerous. Snipers are everywhere. Every day can be his last…
*Not yet translated into English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ad de Bont | – Playwright |
| Coby Omvlee | – Adapted by |
| Coby Omvlee | – Translation |
| Elin Hassel Iversen | – Direction |
| Coby Omvlee | – Dramaturge |
| Solveig Fugelsøy | – Costume design |
| Bjørn Myrholdt | – Actor (Onkel Djuka) |
| Coby Omvlee | – Actor (Tante Fazila) |
| Lillian Uran Todnem | – Producer |
| Elin Hassel Iversen | – Consultant (Språkkonsulent) |
| 2002 | Opening night |
Amund Grimstad, date unknown, Klassekampen [Oslo, Norway]:
"It is a quiet story, but still intense and performed in a close way by the two onstage. With just a chair and a cap as aids, uncle Djuka (Bjørn Myrholdt) and aunt Fazila (Coby Omvlee) introduce us to a daily life just a few hours flight away. We have read and heard about this before, but it’s still terribly powerful, and that may be just because of the manner it is presented. Detailed stories about violence and evil we are spared of, but yet the same, we are left with endless pain. It is not necessary to see the violence to feel the pain, perhaps rather the contrary."
Writer and date unknown, Adresseavisen [Trondheim, Norway]:
"Rarely can a play move its audience to tears. But after the performance Mirad a visibly moved audience left the hall Rådssalen in the public library this Saturday morning – an audience having has a taste of the fears and sadness of war, though with a human, down-to-earth and modest."