THE FINGER
By Doruntina Basha
One of the most scintillating Balkan texts to be written at the beginning of this century. This is the story of years of grief . . .
Two women share the colossal pain of a truth they struggle to face.
— Nihad Kreševljaković, Al Jazeera, Balkans
The drama strikes at the walls of the house, which confine like prison cells.
— Agim Janina, Panorama online, Albania
Disappeared sons: monstrous creatures on an imperceptible border between being and nothingness.
— Zlatko Paković, from the Introduction to the Serbian version of One Flew over the Kosovo Theater, An
Anthology of Contemporary Drama from Kosovo
The repression of everyday life in a post-traumatic society . . . A story of acute solitude, but also of hope.
— ATSH: Albanian News Agency
More epic than lyrical, the subordination of women can be discerned several layers deep.
— Nenad Obradović, e-novine.com
There is no normal life in the families of the missing, and The Finger dramatizes the devastation caused by the disappearance of family members.
— Anna Di Lellio, from the forward to the English version of One Flew over the Kosovo Theater, An Anthology of Contemporary Drama from Kosovo
The Finger draws its impetus from a vacuum, from a family bereft, and the implacable dynamics between two women. In it, a disappearance calls for – and exacts – rituals in the gap between life and death.
The poetry of the language conveys the infinite nuances of the relationship between the two women, who hate and love at once, but cannot be without on another. — ATSH: Albanian News Agency
The Finger has been produced in Belgrade, Skopje, Sarajevo, Vienna, Prishtina, Tirana, Turin, and Naples. It had its North American premiere on September 19, 2019, at Venus Theatre in Laurel Maryland.
ABOUT DORUNTINA BASHA
Drawing by Biba Kayewich
Her enthusiasm for writing about “little” people – the ignored, and those who live in the margins of society – has shaped her renowned style as the author of many now- staged productions. — Dardan Zhegrova, Kosovo 2.0
Doruntina Basha is the author of five plays, including plays for children, several short screenplays, and one feature. Her works have been translated into Serbian, Macedonian, BHS (Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian), English, French, German, Italian, and Turkish. Her screenplay for the forthcoming film, Vera Dreams of the Sea, is currently in production.
