The 21st edition of the International Monodrama Festival starts in Maliq

2025-06-24 10:25:00, Qyteti im CNA

In a small town like Maliqi, where life flows quietly and cultural traditions often remain in the shadows, this late June has brought an unusual atmosphere. The International Monodrama Festival, now in its 21st edition, started on Monday, bringing back to this city the spirit of art that once enlivened every corner of the old theater building. With a history that begins decades ago, this festival carries more than just performances, bringing memories, ambitions, efforts to give the city the voice it deserves on the cultural map of the country and beyond.

Artists from countries such as Ukraine, Croatia, Poland, North Macedonia, Greece, and the United States of America have become part of this artistic journey that emphasizes monodrama, a form of theater that requires sensitivity, discipline, and direct confrontation between actor and audience.

The Director of Culture at the Municipality of Maliq, Festim Tomorri, says that the festival is always an organizational challenge, but also a value that the city holds with pride, as Maliq is precisely the place where this artistic event began its journey many years ago.

" The festival itself is a challenge. Today we are at the opening of its 21st edition. The challenge is always in Maliq because this is where the International Monodrama Festival started and here it will continue to take place. From the many requests we have had, we have selected 8 that will be part of the festival. We have participants from Ukraine, Croatia, Poland, North Macedonia, Greece but also from America. A girl comes from New York who has a very good interpretation. The geography of the festival continues to expand and this shows that its quality has also increased. The festival brings good actors, cooperation between them, where they exchange experiences with each other ", said Tomorri.

One of the plays that took place at the opening was Euripides' "Medea." Director and actor Klajdi Marku explains that this work has had a wide resonance on other European and Albanian stages, where it has won numerous accolades for its direction and performance.

" It is an extremely well-known work of antiquity, Euripides' Medea. This is a work that has been in two very important festivals, in the Corinth festival 2 years ago, where it took first place, and second in the youth festival in Berat last year, where this play took all the first places, "best direction", "best actress", "best play" etc. It is a work that we are happy to show to the public and we feel proud of this beautiful performance. I say that it is an alternating play, modern with classic, it has both ", said the director.

But this festival is not just an artistic event. For many foreign artists, it is an opportunity to bring their deepest feelings to the stage and express the emotions that connect them to their lives and their countries of origin.

This is what happened with Ukrainian actress and director Inna Goncharova, who came up with a monodrama inspired by a famous literary character, Agatha Christie.

" This time I come with a monodrama by Agatha Christie and this character is very similar to me. I wrote this monodrama again and I am very happy to be performing it here. It is my second time here, last time I did not act but I was the director of the play. This time I come as both a director and an actress. What I feel is a mix of feelings because we come from a war and what we want is to detach ourselves from it, and we also want to gain strength to calm down a bit, to feel peace and the atmosphere of art. What we want to do is create something beautiful. Our theater continued with the play two weeks after the war started and this gives us strength to create. Art heals us, and we heal the people who come to see us, " said the Ukrainian director.

Maliqi, which once had a beautiful theater building built in 1952, suffered a great loss in 2016 when the building burned down. However, organizers believe that this festival is not only a way to maintain a connection with the past, but also an act of faith in the future.

"The message is permanent: "Look at things that belong to the elite." This has always been a dignified scene, from 1952 when the building was built until 2016 when it burned down. We think we will return to the people the miracle that it once was, as we hope to have it completed within the year, " said Festim Tomorri.

In a world where noise often drowns out inner voices, monodrama comes across as a pure and powerful art form, speaking directly to the soul of the spectator. And it is precisely this that makes the Maliq Monodrama Festival a significant event, not only for the city, but for all those who believe that theater remains one of the most sincere forms of human expression.

As Maliqi's stage welcomes voices from all over the world, it becomes a window to Albanian culture, a place where stories, experiences, and emotions that transcend borders are shared./ CNA