Canadian Balkan girl consumed by finding her family

Lamp Lighters Productions from Toronto in Canada present this, the world premier of a piece written by and starring Irena Huljak.

A one-woman show, Huljak plays Elona, a young woman brought up in Canada by her mysterious mother, who is cold to Elona, but warm to the rest of the world. The main action described is a trip ‘home’ to the motherland, which is never named, merely described as being in the Balkans. One there, Elona discovers the strange rituals of her remote family, rituals that bind them together.

The action is all described from Elona’s point of view, and though she sometimes takes on her mother or grandmother’s voice, these are not complete transformations. This is where the work doesn’t really deliver. There needs to be much more made of the other characters and their perspectives. Without these the production feels unresolved, the themes not fully explored. I note that a five character version is being developed, and think that we will only really see if this story works once this is completed.

[Kathryn Mack]