The three sisters Snezana (Simonida Selimović), Tanja (Jasmin Behnawa) and Melisa (Zeynep Alan) travel to their mother’s Serbian home village and thus begin to confront their own identity. Jelena, the mother of the siblings, who could hardly be more different, went to Boljevac to celebrate Bibijako Dive (“Aunt’s Day”) and died shortly afterwards. The festival is celebrated every year on January 31st, the same day on which the play in WERK X was first performed in Vienna.
In “Bibi Sara Kali” the confrontation with the alienated Roma culture and its customs is brought to the stage in a self-deprecating, humorous and authentic way.
“It’s always wonderful to see the audience so enthusiastic. Being able to tell our stories is of course something special,” says director Simonida Selimović in an interview with KURIER. She herself was born in Serbia, but came to Vienna at the age of seven. Growing up in two cultures, I can identify with my siblings’ struggle for identity.
- “Bibi Sara Kali”: Auf den Spuren der eigenen Identität. In: der Kurier. 10.02.2023. https://kurier.at/mehr-platz/theater-roma-sinti-romano-svato-simonida-selimovic/402324348
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