Game With Toothpicks

“The New is something no one can expect – and no one really wants”

(Boris Kadin)

Documentary performance about media reactions to the performance Not Like Me at the Zadar Snova Festival (13-08-2007, Zadar). “Slobodna Dalmacija, 16-08-2007, Groza v Zadru. The bloody performance of the Via Negativa theatre group in St. Dominic’s Church horrified the audience. A Serb and a Croat cut each other on the stage. Game With Toothpicks treats the media “outside” as its “inside”. The performers take two very different positions: Kristian is still convinced that the audience wants blood, while Boris turns the performance into an absurd self-referential machine and plays a game about a game: “Here are the comments that could be found on our blogs: Only a Slovene could manage to get a Serb and a Croat to cut themselves. The Bosnian should have been included to make it a real competition. Another example of Balkan art. Idiots. What you don’t call art! Pure shit. Kill the Serb! Next time let them hit each other on the head with hammers to see who can last longer – that would be interesting.”

Game With Toothpicks

2009 • Via Nova
Documentary performance • 35 min

Concept and direction — Bojan Jablanovec
Devised and performed by — Boris Kadin, Kristian Al Droubi
Video — Bojan Jablanovec (Game with knifes, 13-08-2007, Zadar)
Producer — Špela Trošt
Production — Via Negativa