In Search of the Lost Language

Slovenian National Theatre of Nova Gorica presents a play entitled In Search of the Lost Language (V iskanju izgubljenega jezika).

In Search of the Lost Language is the second part of a trilogy in collaboration with Mittelfest Festival and GO! 2025, written by Goran Vojnović and directed by Janusz Kica. The premiere will take place on 14 November 2024 at 8 p.m. on the big stage of the SNG Nova Gorica.

The play tells the story of two brothers who were split up in their youth and live on separate sides of the Slovenian-Italian border. The first is a staunch fascist, the second was a partisan and became an official in the Yugoslav administration. The story begins when the first one suffers a stroke and speaks in the language of his childhood, which his son does not understand. The only one who understands him is a housekeeper, who explains his wish to meet with his brother. For both of them and those closest to them, this means a disturbing confrontation with the past and with themselves.

The play will take us back to a time when post-war ideologies sharply divided Italy and Slovenia, then an integral part of Yugoslavia. Through the psychological dissection of the characters and their family drama, we will follow the path of memories of a half-gone history, its injustices and silenced secrets.

The trilogy was based on a desire to present the stories of the people living alongside the border during specific and crucial periods in the region's recent history. The trilogy is inspired by Joseph Roth's novel The Emperor's Tomb. The first production will be a dramatization of the novel, the second will be set in the 1960s, and the third will look at the area in contemporary times.

This play is part of the official GO! 2025 programme.