Actor and dramaturg Kaia Fransiska Lundenes from Dramatikkens Hus will have an open reading of the play Citycide. Citycide was initially written as a short story in 2007 in New York. In 2010, it was adapted into a play, which was awarded the ‘Katarina Josipi’ Award for Original Plays in Albanian (second prize) by the Kosovo National Theatre in Prishtinë, Kosova.
Citycide is a play about the weight of memory and the absurdity of how grief is commodified under capitalism. Set in a restaurant where guests reserve a seat for a final meal that contains cyanide, the play exposes how death is reduced to a bureaucratic, consumerist experience. Through the conversations of its characters, Citycide delves into memories of war, exile, mourning, and the ways in which history lingers in the body. Alternating between dark humor and painful recollections, the play reflects on the alienation of the contemporary city, the blurry lines between presence and absence, companionship and solitude, and the need for pain to be witnessed.
Eli Krasniqi is an anthropologist and writer. In addition to poetry, she also writes short stories. In 2022, she published a collection of poetry spanning the years 2012–2022, also through Qendra Multimedia. Her poetry has been translated into English, German, Greek, and Romani and has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies.