Goran Stefanovski
Goran Stefanovski was a leading Macedonian dramatist, screenwriter, essayist, lecturer and public intellectual. He died on 27 November 2018 in the UK. Stefanovski was an international figure, whose work dealt with issues of migration, post-communist transition and identity, as well as what it means to be human.
Life and work
Goran Stefanovski was born on 27 April 1952 in Bitola, a town then in Yugoslavia, near the border with Greece on the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe. His father, Mirko, was a theatre director and his mother, Nada, a leading actress. Much of Goran's childhood was spent in theatres. His younger brother is Vlatko Stefanovski, a well-known virtuoso guitarist.Having fallen in love with all things English during his teenage years through the influence of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Goran went on to study English language and literature at the University of Skopje. However, he could not get the theatre out of his system and spent his third year of studies at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. He graduated as the best student of his generation in Skopje and took a job in the Drama Department of Skopje TV, although he was soon to return to the University to teach English literature, with a particular focus on Shakespeare.
In October 1974 he met Pat Marsh, an English linguist who came to teach English at Skopje University. They married in March 1976. When they met, he was writing a play based on Macedonian folklore for Slobodan Unkovski, one of the directors of a theatre group he had become involved with as a student; Unkovski was to become a lifetime collaborator and friend. Yané Zadrogaz achieved great success and went on to be presented at the prestigious Belgrade International Theatre Festival, then in Paris and finally at the Caracas Theatre Festival in Venezuela.
A radio play about Shakespeare, two TV plays with a contemporary setting, and a six-part TV series set in the 1940s followed Goran Stefanovski's early success in the second half of the 1970s. In 1979 he wrote his best-known play, Wild Flesh, which has had fifteen productions to date all over Europe, including London, and is on the secondary school curriculum in his homeland. The play is based on the experiences of his father and uncles during World War II. It brought him the October Prize of the Republic of Macedonia for exceptional artistic achievement, the highest award of the Republic, as well as the 1980 Award for Best Yugoslav Play of the Year at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival.
Two years later, Flying on the Spot had its first production, a play which dealt with the fraught Macedonian Question of the late nineteenth century and the identity of the nation; it was to endear Stefanovski to his compatriots worldwide.
Almost every year for the next thirty-three years was to see a new and successful play by Goran Stefanovski, many of them award-winners. In the 1980s he continually pushed the boundaries of Yugoslav theatre, both in an artistic and political sense. The False Bottom was particularly bold in its challenge to state censors. In 1988 The Black Hole received its first productions; with its unique structure and stunning theatricality, it is generally considered to be his greatest contribution to European theatre.
1985 marked a departure for the dramatist into a TV serial for children, The Crazy Alphabet, each episode teaching one of the 31 letters of the Macedonian alphabet through a combination of animation and sketches. Stefanovski's son, Igor, had been born in 1980 and his daughter, Jana, was to be born in 1986. That year he founded the playwriting department at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Skopje, where he was a full professor until 1998.
In 1987 Stefanovski wrote the first version of a screenplay for film director, Stolé Popov, dealing with the aftermath of the catastrophic 1903 Ilinden Uprising against Ottoman rule. This film, To the Hilt, was not to be made until 2014, after it had been through two revisions, but it was the first of six screenplays Stefanovski was to write and began his involvement with film.
In 1990 he took his family to Providence, Rhode Island, USA, where he spent six months as Outstanding Artist Fulbright Scholar at Brown University and began a lifelong friendship with Professor John Emigh.
In 1991 Yugoslavia began to fall apart and descended into civil war. The constantly deteriorating situation led his wife Pat to decide to make a new life for the family in Canterbury, England, from September 1992. For the next six years, Stefanovski was to commute between Macedonia and the UK, continuing his teaching in Skopje.
In 1992, Dragan Klaić, one of Goran's former teachers at the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts and a close friend, put him in touch with Chris Torch of the Jordcirkus theatre group in Stockholm, who commissioned a play, in cooperation with the Antwerp European Capital of Culture, about Sarajevo, the Bosnian city then undergoing a brutal siege. Sarajevo, an oratorio for the theatre went on an extensive tour across Europe in the summer of 1993, including the London International Festival of Theatre and the Kampnagel International Summer Festival in Hamburg. Sarajevo was published in London, New York, and Illinois. This successful venture was followed by performance scripts for the festivals of European Capitals of Culture in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Avignon, and Bologna, all in collaboration with Chris Torch.
Through this connection, Stefanovski had become known in Sweden and between 1998 and 2000 he was a visiting professor at the Dramatic Institute in Stockholm. The Institute published his A Little Book of Traps in 2002. It has been translated and published in five languages, including Chinese. By this time, Stefanovski had become used to writing in English and only later translating his work into his mother tongue.
In September 2000 he settled in Canterbury and taught classes in screenwriting and playwriting at the University of Kent before taking up his post at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2002, teaching screenwriting there until his death in 2018. He was an extraordinarily popular teacher and a well-loved colleague.
Stefanovski continued writing successful plays which were translated and produced all over the world throughout the rest of his life. In 2004 Everyman played at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith and on tour with Theatre Melange, enhancing his reputation for uncompromising treatment of the themes of identity, cultural history and politics. Perhaps the most notable of his later plays were his two adaptations of Ancient Greek texts, Bacchanalia after Euripides’ The Bacchae and Odysseus after Homer's Odyssey. Both had clear and moving references to the Yugoslav wars and their aftermath. Much of his later work was directed in theatres all over Europe by Aleksandar Popovski, a former student of Stefanovski's at the Skopje Academy, who has become much sought after.
A highly regarded essayist, public intellectual and lecturer, Stefanovski contributed papers to a large number of conferences and held workshops all over Europe. His last public lecture was as keynote speaker at the International Federation for Theatre Research World Congress in Belgrade in July 2018. His last public appearance was to receive an honorary doctorate from the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia.
Goran Stefanovski died of an inoperable brain tumour in 2018 at the age of 66. His death brought scores of tributes to his brilliance as a writer and teacher, as well as outpourings of admiration and love for him as a human being of great wisdom, modesty and kindness.
Full-length theatre plays
- Јане Задрогаз - 1974
- Диво месо – 1979
- Лет во место – 1981
- Хај-Фај – 1982
- Дупло дно – 1984
- Тетовирани души – 1985
- Црна дупка – 1987
- Лонг плеј – 1988
- Кула вавилонска – 1989
- Чернодрински се враќа дома – 1991
- Sarajevo, an oratorio for the theatre – 1993
- Баханалии – 1996
- Casabalkan – 1997
- Euralien - 1998
- Tales of a City - 1998
- Hotel Europa - 2000
- The Hague – 2000
- Everyman – 2002
- Демонот од Дебар маало – 2006
- Пусти то - 2010
- Odisej – 2012
- Огнени јазици - 2013
- Figurae Veneris Historiae - 2014
Plays available in translation
In English:- translated by Patricia Marsh-Stefanovska, The Conrad Press, 2019
- Selected Plays - Translation Project Macedonian Literature in English Volume 99, St Clement of Ohrid National and University Library, Skopje, 2011
- "Hotel Europa" published in the anthology New Europe edited by Bonnie Marranca and Malgorzata Semil, PAJ Publications, New York, New York, 2009
- "Proud Flesh" in Ten Modern Macedonian Plays, edited and with a foreword by Jelena Lužina, Matica Makedonska, Skopje, 2000,
- "Sarajevo" in Balkan Blues , ed. Joanna Labon, pp. 211–268, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Illinois, 1995,
- "Sarajevo" in Storm , No. 6, pp. 210–268, edited by Joanna Labon, published in association with Carcanet Press, London, 1994,
- "Sarajevo" in Performing Arts Journal, New York, Vol l. XVI, No.2, 1994
- Hi-Fi/The False Bottom, translated by Patricia Marsh-Stefanovska, BkMk Press of the University of Missouri - Kansas, 1986
- "Flying on the Spot", translated by Patricia Marsh-Stefanovska, in theatre magazine Scena, English issue 8, pp. 170–188, Novi Sad, 1985
- "Proud Flesh", translated and with a foreword by Prof. Ralph Bogert, in Slavic and East European Arts, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 59–93, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1983
- "Proud Flesh", translated by Alan McConnell Duff, in the theatre magazine Scena,, pp. 170–186, Novi Sad, Serbia, 1981
- Černodrinski revient à la maison, translated by Maria Béjanovska, L'Espace d'un Instant, Paris, 2013
- Le démon de Debarmaalo, translated by Maria Béjanovska, L'Espace d'un Instant, Paris, 2010
- Hôtel Europa : Scénario pour un événement théâtral, translated by Séverine Magois, L'Espace d'un Instant, Paris, 2005
- "Ex-Yougoslavie, le théâtre dans la guerre, textes réunis, traduits et présentés par Mireille Robin", Les Cahiers, Revue Trimestrielle de Théàtre, Comédie-Française, No.9, Paris
- Sarajevo y Figurae Veneris Historiae, translated by Marija Pendeva and Jose Gabriel Santander Serrano, Publicaciones de la Asociación de Directores de Escena de España, Madrid, 2016
- Carne orgullosa y Doble fondo, Publicaciones de la Asociación de Directores de Escena de España, Serie: Literatura Dramatica, No. 92, Madrid, 2015
- Hotel Europa y Everyman , translated by Marija Pendeva and Jose Gabriel Santander Serrano, Publicaciones de la Asociación de Directores de Escena de España, Serie: Literatura Dramatica, No. 89, Madrid, 2015
- "Anime Tatuate", translated by Nicoletta Gaida, in Il Gallo Silvestre, 9, pp. 61–100, Sestante, Mira, Venezia, 1997
- "Hotel Europa" in Neue Stücke aus Europa, translated by Elena Krüskemper, Bonn, Germany, 2000
- "Sarajevo", translated by Sabine Zolchow, Theater der Zeit, No. 1, Essen, Mai/Juni 1993
- "Long Play", translated by Simona Erlitzer, in YU Fest 1988, National Theatre of Subotica, pp. 170–205, Subotica, 1988
- "Chernodrinski comes back home", in Современная македонская пьеса translated by Olga Pankina, ed. Olga Pankina, Okojom, Moscow, 2010
- Полет на месте и другие пьесы Горан Стефановский Радуга, 1987
- "Яне-баламут" in Драматургия Югославии Серия: Библиотека югославской литературы, edited and translated by Natalija Vagapova, pp. 583–622, Iskustvo, Moscow, 1982
- "Чернодринсҡи се враҕa дoma", translated by the author, Мостови,, 111, Беогҏад, 1997
- "Bahanalije", translated by Gojko Janušević, in Scena theatre magazine, 1-2, Novi Sad, 1997
- "Crna rupa" translated by Gojko Janušević, in Scena theatre magazine, 1, no. XXIV, pp. 199–208, Novi Sad, 1988
- Teтoвиранe душе и друге драме, Narodna Knjiga, Beograd, 1987
- "Duplo dno", translated by Risto Vasilevski, Ka novoj drami, Vol. 3, pp. 5–36, edited by Dragana Bošković, Nova Knjiga, Beograd, 1987
- "Teтoвиранe душе", translated by the author, in Књижевне новине, 700-701, pp. 29–32, Београд, 1985
- "Divlje meso", translated by Gojko Janušević, in Antologija savremene jugoslovenske drame, Vol.2, pp. 325–403, edited by Ognjen Lakićević, Svetozar Marković, Beograd, 1984
- "Hi-Fi", translated by Biljana Biljanovska, in Ka novoj drami, Vol. 3, pp. 1–63,, Tribina, Beograd, 1983
- "Let u mestu", translated by Dušan Gorenčevski, in Scena theatre magazine, XVIII, 2, pp. 109–128, Novi Sad, 1982
- Divlje meso, translated by Gojko Janušević, Sterijino Pozorje, Novi Sad, Serbia, 1980
- Odisej i druge drame, Hrvatska sveučilišna naklada, 2018
- "Divlje meso", translated by Borislav Pavlovski, in Suvremene makedonske drame, pp. 213–260, edited by Branko Hećimović and Borislav Pavlovski, Znanje, Zagreb, 1982
- Odisej, translated by Branka Nikl Klampfer, Maribor, Hisa Knjig, Založba KMS, 2012
- Demon iz Debar Maala, pp. 299–307, Cankarjeva Založba, Ljubljana, 2008
- "Hi-Fi", in Makedonska dramska besedila, translated by Mateja Dermelj, edited and with a foreword by Vladimir Osolnik, Univerza v Ljubljani, Ljubljana, pp. 88–115, 2003
- "Bakanalije", translated by Zdravko Duša, in Dramatikon 2, Beletrina, Ljubljana, pp. 217–252, 2000
- Goran Stefanovski: 7 piese de teatru, translated by Mihaela Cernăuţi-Gorodeţchi with Nikola Vangeli, Editura Artes, 2018
- Europeretta, Book of plays translated by Ioana Ieronim, Tracus Arte, Bucureşti, 2016
- Viata lumii, translated by Nikola Vangeli, Contact International, Vol.23, 109, 110, 111, pp. 555–567, Bucureşti, 2013
- Poveşti din Estul Sălbatic, Book of selected plays translated into Romanian by Ioana Ieronim, foreword by Ioana Ieronim, Fundaţia Culturală "Camil Petrescu", Revista Teatrul azi, prin Editura Cheiron, Bucureşti, pp. 209, 2010
- "Everyman", translated by Ioana Ireonimin, in Antologia, Festivalul International de Teatru de la Sibiu, pp. 237–259, Sibiu, 2009
- "Hotel Europa", translated by Ioana Ieronim, pp. 145–182 in Dramaturgie contemporana din Balcani, ed. Andreea Dumitru, preface by Ioana Ieronim, Fundatia Culturala Camil Petrescu, Bucureşti, 2008
- "Kdokoli", translated by Ivana Dorovska, in Ctyri Jihoslovanska Dramata, pp. 109–139, including a critical essay by Ivana Dorovska "Letmy pohled na soucasnou jihoslovansku dramatickou tvorbu" pp. 5–16, Boskovice, Brno, 2008
- Vybrane dramatické práce, Juga, Bratislava, 2009
- "Tetovane Duše", translated by Jan Janković, Javisko theatre magazine, no.6, Bratislava, 1994
- "Žive maso", translated by Jan Janković in Javisko theatre magazine, no.1, pp.17–33, Bratislava, 1989
- "Demon z przdemieścia", translated by Danuta Ćirlić-Straczyńska, in Dialog, pp. 104–130, Warsawa, May 2007
- "Sarajewo", translated by Danuta Ćirlić-Straczyńska, in Dialog 4, Kwiecen 1994, Warsawa, 1994
- "Dzikie mięso", translated by Jolanta Klaszninowska, in Antologia wspöłczesnego dramatu jugosłowiańskiego, edited by Ognjen Lakićević, pp. 321–378, Wydawnictwo Łódzkie, Łódź, 1988
- Dövmelí Canlar, translated by Zekir Sipahi, Seyirlik Yayınları, Istanbul, 1994
- "Vadhus" translated by Marietta Vujicsics, in HID magazine no. XLIX, 7-8, pp. 950–971 & in 9, pp. 1128–1156, Novi Sad, 1985
Scripts/adaptations
- Traviata - 1989 Libretto for a rock opera produced by Omladinski Kulturni Centar, Zagreb, Croatia, ex-Yugoslavia
- Зодијак - 1990 Libretto for a rock ballet produced by the Macedonian National Theatre Ballet with music by V. Stefanovski and B.Arsovski
- Го сакам Чернодрински - 1991 A multi-media performance produced by the Bitola National Theatre, Republic of Macedonia
- Brecht in Hollywood - 1995 Part-time collaborator on this devised piece for the theatre, produced and performed by the Moving Theatre at Bridge Lane, London
- On the Road to Baghdad - 1999 Adaptation of the novel of the same name by Güneli Gün, commissioned and produced by the Green Candle Dance Company, London. Performed at Sadler's Wells, London
- Духот на слободата - 2003 Variations on a play by Chernodrinski produced by the National Theatre Bitola, Republic of Macedonia, in 2005
Radio plays
- Shakespeare the Apprentice - 1975 Produced for Macedonian Radio in 1975
One-act plays
- Гоце - 1991 Produced for Makedonsko Oro by the Canadian-Macedonian Federation, Toronto, Canada, 1991
- Old Man Carrying Stones - 1994 Commissioned and produced by the Green Candle Company, London, premiered at the Lilian Baylis Theatre at Sadler's Wells, London
- Сега му е мајката - 1995 Produced by an informal group and presented at the Dramski Teatar, Skopje
- Ex-Yu - 1996 Commissioned by The Tricycle Theatre, London, produced in May 1996, directed by Nicholas Kent
- Only Human - 1998 Commissioned by HMR, Sweden for the 50th anniversary of The Declaration of Human Rights, performed in 1998, directed by Suzanne Osten
TV plays
- Клинч - 1974 Produced and broadcast by The Macedonian National Television in 1975. Also produced two more times as a stage play.
- Сослушувањето на железничарот - 1977 TV film, produced by TV Skopje
- Томе од бензинската пумпа - 1978 TV film, produced by TV Skopje
- Тумба, тумба дивина - 1980 Produced by TV Skopje
- Дивље месо - 1981 Produced by TV Belgrade
- Оазата на Мира - 1994 New Year's Eve TV show produced by TV Skopje, Macedonia
TV serials
- Наши години - 1979 TV drama serial in 6 instalments, produced by Macedonian National Broadcasting Service
- Бушава азбука - 1985 TV series for children in 31 instalments, produced by Macedonian National Broadcasting Service
- Аирлија транзиција - 1996 in six instalments, commissioned by USAID and produced by Mala Stanica, Skopje
- Наше маало - 1998 Story bible for children's TV series commissioned by CTW, Children's Television Network, New York, the makers of Sesame Street. Produced by Search For Common Ground. First series broadcast 2001.
Screenplays
- Хај-фај - 1988, Feature film script produced by The Vardar Film Company, Skopje, Macedonia, directed by Vladimir Blaževski
- Parigi-Istra - 1991 PARIGI-ISTRA Script for part of an omnibus feature film, produced in Croatia, directed by Rajko Grlić
- До балчак 1987, 2001 and 2011 Feature film script, optioned by Watershed Productions, London. Finally produced by Jordančo Čevrevski and Vladimir Anastasov and directed by Stolé Popov
- Walter and Virginia - 2005 First draft of a feature film script commissioned by Get Film, Stockholm, directed by Suzanne Osten
- Frau Einstein - 2007 Doctoring of feature film script for Hammer Productions, Novi Sad, Serbia
- What do you want?- 2007 Script for short film based on etching by and interview with Nick Burton, edited by Andy Birtwistle
Screenwriting manual
- A Little Book of Traps, a scriptwriting tool - 2002 Dramatiska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Into Macedonian:
- Мала книга на стапици , Табернакул, Скопје, 2003
- "A Little Book of Traps, a scriptwriting tool", translated by Li Lina, Journal of Beijing Film Academy, No.78, Issue 5 2007/2010
- Mala knjiga zamki , Sterijino pozorje, Novi Sad, 2009
- Malá kniha nástrah , Divadelný ústav v Bratislave, Bratislava, 2010
Prose poems
- Конзервирани импресии, Магма книга 13, Темплум, Скопје, 2004 ; Табернакул, Скопје, 2014
Published articles and essays
- 2012 "Cearta dintre mine si Kafka", translated into Romanian by Ioana Ieronim, Romania Literara, 9, annul XLIV, 2.3.2012
- 2010 Кавга со Кафка и други есеи,, Табернакул, Скопје, 2010
- 2010 "Chinese Whispers", in Shoreless Bridges , edited by Elka Agoston-Nikolova, Rodopi, Amsterdam/New York, NY 2010,, pp. 21–26,, E-Book
- 2010 "Trans Artists and Cis Artists" published in TEAM Network Year Book, pp. 44–492009
- 2009 "Tales from the Wild East", translated into Romanian by Ioana Ieronimin, in the weekly Luceafarul, 45-46, 30.12.2009, Bucuresti. Online version: http://www.revistaluceafarul.ro/index.html?id=1792&editie=812009,
- 2009 Monologue from the essay "Heart of the Matter" translated into Romanian by Ioana Ieronim, published in the weekly Romania literara, Number 51-52, 2009. Online version: http://www.romlit.ro/goran_stefanovski-fondul_problemei
- 2009 "Geschichten aus dem Wilden Osten", in Wespennest - Zeitschrift für brauchbare Texte und Bilder, Nummer 154, Marz; Wien,
- 2008 "Playwright as a maker of Plays" in Literary Landscapes, Central European Initiative, Round Table at Vilenica, The Author between Text and Context, Essays, pp. 41–52, Drustvo slovenskih pisateljev, Ljubljana. 2008
- 2008 "After Dinner Speech" in Best of Sarajevo Notebooks, No 18, 2008, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 2008 "Tales from the Wild East" in Theatre and Performance in Eastern Europe, edited by Dennis Barnett and Arthur Skelton, The Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, U.S.A, pp. 147–155
- 2007 "Dlaczego Balkany nie sa sexy" in Dialog, pp. 94–103, Warsawa, May 2007
- 2006 "The Heart of the Matter" in The Heart of the Matter , ed. Chris Keulemans, pp. 68–73, European Cultural Foundation, Amsterdam, 2006
- 2006 "Stammi a sentire, Gran Bretagna" in Quando la Cultura fa la differenza , ed. Simona Bodo and Maria Rita Cifarelli, pp 149–155, Meltemi Editore, Roma
- 2005 "O našoj priči", an essay, translated by Nenad Vujadinović, Mostovi, pp. 129–130, Beograd
- 2005 "Tales from the Wild East" essay in Hotel Europa, translated into French by Séverine Magois, éditions L’Espace d’un Instant, Paris
- 2005 Приказни од дивиот исток, essays and interviews, Табернакул, Скопје
- 2004 "A Tale from the Wild East" in Alter Ego - Twenty Confronting Views on the European Experience, edited by Guido Snel, Amsterdam University Press, Salome
- 2001 "Za kaj Balkan ni seksi",, Air Beletrina 12-13, Ljubljana
- 2001 "Bakanalije" in Dramatikon 2, Beletrina, Ljubljana
- 2000 "Fables du monde sauvage de l’Est", French translation of essay, Alternatives théâtrales, 64, Bruxelles
- 2000 "Priče s divljeg istoka", Croatian translation of essay, 15 Dana, 6/2000
- 2000 "Geschichten aus dem Wilden Osten", German translation of essay, Theater Heute, No. 6, June 2000
- 1999 "Priče s divljeg istoka", Croatian translation of essay, Radio Zagreb III, Zagreb
- 1999 "Zasto Balkan nije seksi", Serbian translation of essay, NIN, Beograd
- 1999 "Приказни од дивиот исток", an essay, Forum, Skopje
- 1996 "Англиската драма без Шекспир во Македонија од 1915 до 1985", Книжевен контекст, Faculty of Philology, Skopje, pp. 222–233,
- 1991 "Pearls of Wisdom", EuroMaske, No. 3, Ljubljana
- 1986 "Англиската драма без Шекспир во Македонија од 1915 до 1985", Театарски гласник, 28, pp. 23–28, Skopje, 1986
- 1980 "Разумен театар - Едвард Бонд", Театарски гласник, 13-14, pp. 10–14, Skopje
- 1978 "Сценските ремарки како основа на театарот на Самјуел Бекет",, Театарски гласник, III, 5-6, pp. 12–13, Skopje, 1978
Practice-based research
- Hamlet: Live, Die, Repeat 20 October 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSs1dKoFPP8
- Tintin in the Balkans 22 October 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXfFdOS-KW4
- Teaching the Unteachable 15 September 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdX9YLBjy-E
- From First Idea to First Night 24 March 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2SDPD9KTk