Safet Plakalo
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Safet Plakalo (4 March 1950 – 19 March 2015) was a Bosnian
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
, journalist, theatre critic and a founder of
Sarajevo War Theatre (SARTR) The Sarajevo War Theatre () is a theatre in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded on 17 May 1992 on the initiative of Dubravko Bibanović, Gradimir Gojer, Đorđe Mačkić and Safet Plakalo during the Siege of Sarajevo. It was a gat ...
. He was one of the few South Slavic writers of poetic dramatic orientation. His unique dramatic expression integrated the precise poetic form of a
sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...
deeply into a dramatic form.


Career

Having written his first play, ''Vrh'' (The Peak), at the age of 26, he held the honour of being the youngest playwright in the theatrical history of
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
whose play was staged by a professional theatre. The success of ''Vrh'' had secured him his first commission to write a play about the 1941 anti-fascist insurgence in the Romanija region near
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
. Though one of his best plays, ''Iza šutnjes (Beyond Silence) attempt to demystify the legend of Slaviša Vajner Čiča, a Partisan leader at the heart of the events, displeased Bosnian political censors. As a result, the play was swiftly taken off the repertoires of the four out of five leading Bosnian theatres. The fifth one, in
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...
, never attempted to stage it. Plakalo wrote his third play ''Nit'' in the middle of the censorship battle, but disheartened by the outcome and the "incomprehensible attitude of the Bosnian theatrical world towards home-grown dramatic literature", he temporarily gave up on writing to become a theatre critic. By the end of the third decade of his life, while his daughter was still a girl, Plakalo, however, wrote three radio-plays, all three of them (''Koncert za klavir i svjetlost'', ''Preparirano proljeće'' and ''Balada o Modrinji''), for children. His doubt, however, did not leave him and it was only at the request of his great friend and the doyen of the Bosnian theatre, actor Safet Pašalić, that he agreed to write ''Kulin IV'' (Kulin the Fourth). As destiny would have it, the great actor died not long after the work's completion, and Plakalo decided not to follow through with the production. It was a personal tragedy that made him return to his dramatic and poetic roots with an autobiographical ''memento mori'' to his killed wife, Sonja, ''Phoenix je sagorio uzalud'' (Phoenix Has Burnt In Vain). On his 36th birthday, and ten years after his first play, he finally saw another of his works premiered on a theatre stage. What followed was his most significant drama to date, ''Lutkino bespuće'' (A Doll's Wasteland), Plakalo's 'reply' to
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
's ''A Doll's House (Nora)''. ''Lutkino bespuće'' earned Plakalo a reputation as the 'Ibsen of Bosnia' both at home and abroad. The play caught the eye of the
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
Ibsenologist, Professor Sandra Saari, and Norway's Ibsen Stage Festival, but another twist of fate put Plakalo's international plans on hold as his beloved
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
came
under siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by J. F. Lawton. It stars Steven Seagal (who also produced the film), Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, and Erika Eleniak. Seagal plays Casey Ryback, a former ...
in 1992.


Theatre against death

In the city paralyzed by war, Plakalo and three of his close friends and collaborators, Gradimir Gojer, Đorđe Mačkić and Dubravko Bibanović, decided to form
Sarajevo War Theatre (SARTR) The Sarajevo War Theatre () is a theatre in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded on 17 May 1992 on the initiative of Dubravko Bibanović, Gradimir Gojer, Đorđe Mačkić and Safet Plakalo during the Siege of Sarajevo. It was a gat ...
as a form of spiritual resistance to the madness of war. Together with Bibanović, Plakalo embarks on writing Sarajevo's first authentic war play - ''Sklonište'' (The Shelter), in which he explored the genre of ''grotesque'' as the only meaningful approach to the tragedy that surrounded them. During the next 12 months, Sarajevans braved shelling, snipers and hunger to see ''Sklonište'' 97 times, often under candlelight. The theatre's ensemble did the same for its audience taking the performance to the front-line on more than one occasion, and giving some 2000 performances during Sarajevo's four years under siege. In 1994, at the height of the siege, Plakalo wrote a letter to his friend Stein Wing, director of the National Theatre of Norway, and with support from Waclav Havel,
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
, Ellen Horn and Bibi Andersson, the troupe made its way through Sarajevo's only lifeline, the famous Tunnel, to make its first international appearance at the Ibsen Stage Festival in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
. Since then, SARTR has made over a hundred appearances around Europe, and collaborated widely, most notably with the Valencian dramatist José Sanchís Sinisterra, Moscow’s Hudojestveni Theatre director Nikolay Skorik, Bordeaux's
Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...
, and the '' Ex-ponto International Festival'' in
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. ''The Memoirs of Mina Hauzen'', another Plakalo's play, was SARTR's first post-war production. However, despite their immense popularity, neither ''Sklonište'', nor ''The Memoirs'' had a lasting effect on Plakalo's dramatic orientation. As the world around him returned to an uneasy peace, Plakalo returned to his primary interest – the theatre of human intimacy, penning an ''hommage'' to his mother in a play about Prophet
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
's daughter, Fatima. The most complex of his plays, ''Hazreti Fatima'' (Fatima Az-Sahra), marks Plakalo's return to another interest – poetic drama, demonstrating his T. S. Eliot-inspired need to address the reader in a strict poetic form with rare erudition and piety. His fascination with the fundamental philosophical issues of women's existence soon found another expression in the play ''Smrt i čežnja Silvije Plat'' (The Death and Desire of
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...
), another ''hommage'', this time to the great American poet. Plakalo was also the '' spiritus movens'' behind the famous 1969 Poetic Marathon, a former journalist of Oslobodjenje, Večernje novine, and Sarajevo's city radio "202", and a respected theatre
critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...
.


Death

He died in Sarajevo on 19 March 2015, after a long illness, and was posthumously awarded the Sarajevo Canton Plaque for his contribution to arts and culture. His first and only novel, ''Plod smrti'', has not been published.


Bibliography


Plays, radio-plays and librettos

*''Vrh'' (The Peak), 1976. *''Iza šutnje'' (Beyond Silence), 1977. *''Nit (In vino veritas)'' (The Thread), 1982. *''Koncert za klavir i svjetlost'' (The Concerto for Piano and Light), 1977. *''Preparirano proljeće'' (The Stuffed Springtime), 1979. *''Balada o Modrinji'' (A Ballad about Modrinja), 1980. *''Phoenix je sagorio uzalud'' (Phoenix has burnt in vain), 1984. *''Kulin IV'' (Kulin the Fourth) *''Balada o ex-šampionu'' (A Ballad about an Ex-champion), 1985. *''Lutkino bespuće'' (A Doll's Wasteland), 1990. *''Sklonište'' (The Shelter), 1992. *''Memoari Mine Hauzen'' (The Memoirs of Mina Houzen), 1995. *''Hazreti Fatima'' (Fatima Az-Sahra), 1998. *''Omer za naćvama'', libretto based on a play by ''Alija Nametak'', 1999. *''Soba od vizije (Chambre des Visions)'' (A Room of Vision) *''Čežnja i smrt Silvije Plat (Désir et mort de Sylvia Plath)'' (The Death and Desire of Sylvia Plath) *''U traganju za bojom kestena'' (In search of the colour of chestnut), 2002. * “Kraljice” (Queens), 2003. – the author of songs


Novels

*''Plod smrti'', forthcoming


Poetry

*”Sabrane pjesme” (The poetry collection), 2004.


Articles and publications


MAK, 1917–1997


Others about Safet Plakalo

Muhamed Dzelilovic, “Fenix (ni)je sagorio uzalud), 2015
br /
Nada Salom, “SARTR: Pozorisno biti ili ne biti"
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Kenan Beslija, “Covjek zvani teatar”Aleksandra Bilic, “Theatre and Performance as a means of survival and resistance during the Siege of Sarajevo"


See also

* List of playwrights * List of poets * List of Bosnia and Herzegovina people


References

*''Knežević, Maja'', "A letter about the author" in ''Plakalo, Safet'', ''Hazreti Fatima'' *''Vujanović, Vojislav'', Review
Bilten Pozorišnih Igara u Brčkom, 7 November 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plakalo, Safet Place of birth missing 1950 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina writers 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century journalists 20th-century male writers 20th-century Muslims 20th-century novelists 20th-century poets 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina writers 21st-century dramatists and playwrights 21st-century journalists 21st-century male writers 21st-century Muslims 21st-century novelists 21st-century poets Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina dramatists and playwrights Bosnia and Herzegovina novelists Bosnia and Herzegovina poets Bosniak poets Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Children's writers Journalists from Sarajevo Male journalists Male novelists Male poets Organization founders Radio writers Theatre critics