We spoke to Stela Mišković, the Montenegrin playwright who wrote the script for the show performed by a Portuguese cast as part of the Sexual Theatre – Feminist Readings of Classics project.
Stela has a master’s degree in dramaturgy from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Cetinje and is the author of more than 30 plays. Since 2012 she has been a member of the MESS festival’s critique team and since 2022 she has been a member of the festival’s Artistic Council. She was president of the board of RTV Cetinje from 2022 until the start of her new role/position as artistic director of the Royal Theatre ‘Zetski dom’.
The Sexual Theatre – Feminist Readings of Classics project, which is part of the Braga 25 programme, is the result of cooperation between Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Montenegro. It aims to develop a feminist reinterpretation of literary classics from these countries, through the creation of new shows which, during this year, will be travelling to these countries in festival format.
Braga 25 (B25) – What was your motivation for joining the “Sexual Theatre” project?
Stela Mišković (SM) – During the past few years, we have all been a witness to the considerable degradation of hardly earned women’s rights. As the right-wing policy is getting stronger, it seems that all we as women have been striving to achieve for a long time now has a huge question mark hanging over it. The recent happenings in my country, as well as on the regional and global level(the upward trend in femicide, sexual and domestic violence, inadequate reactions of the bodies in charge of these issues, inconsistently implemented laws), have instilled in me the need to contribute to making visible and raising awareness about the existence of these issues to the extent to which my skills, knowledge and possibilities allow for.
B25 – What do you think is the importance of the European projects such as these, that highlight the importance of tackling such sensitive topics through artistic and creative processes?
(SM) – The task of true art is to face through its various means of expression the most important social issues and therefore contribute, as much as possible, to their eventual solutions. That being said, it goes without saying that we as artists should reflect all this in our work. The interconnecting of different cultures, that although being considerably different in some respects, exhibit an astonishing similarity when it comes to certain topics as discrimination, homophobia, chauvinism and fascism is indispensable in achieving one main common goal and that is the betterment of the society in general. Only when we have admitted to ourselves that territoriality, destruction and the survival of the fittest are an inherent part of the human nature, can we start working towards the eradication of these negative traits and that is best done through art. The EU projects help us realize and accept the fact that these various problems of society concern all of us. They are not in someone else’s backyard but can happen to all of us and only through unity and continuous efforts can we, as the active members of society, create a better tomorrow.
B25 – As an author, how is this theme relevant to your artistic work?
(SM) – One interesting fact is that until this year I have never specifically dealt with the issues relating to women. Working as a playwright on manifold projects, I have been putting the emphasis on the various types of social injustice (migrant crisis, war crimes, peer violence, class differences) and took part in many different workshops (women studies, women in politics). However, this was never done in the activist form or some other socially important engagement. That being said, this year for me is a living proof that the saying by the Chinese philosopher Tao Te Ching “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” is true. This year I have been commissioned to write the text “Slučaj Virdžina”, dealing with the phenomenon characteristic only of Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. Namely, when a female child is born in a family without a male heir, she takes on a role of a man and lives as one for the rest of her life. While working on this piece I dug deeper in trying to explore the rights and roles of women in Montenegro both throughout the history and today. The realization of the project “Sexual Theatre” exactly at this moment I perceive as a certain act of fate. It was a sign telling me “Now is the time. It is the time to truly see us women and our struggles. Now is the time to truly get to know yourself, as woman, and speak loudly about it”.
B25 – What challenges have you faced as a woman in arts?
(SM) – I have to say that as far as my profession and my work is concerned, I’ve had complete support from both the Academy and the society in general. The only obstacles I faced were explicitly related to politics and the state of affairs in my country and had nothing to do with the fact that I am a woman. In my private life, while growing up as a woman in the patriarchal society without a male figure, I experienced various kinds of injustice and violence but never in my professional career.
B25 – How would you describe your artistic residency experience in Braga?
(SM) – The staying in Braga was truly an amazing experience, both privately and professionally. Every segment organized was fantastically thought through and useful. Memorable were the conversations with the women from “NVO” who deal with the prevention and education of the young as well as the visits to the sacred places “Bom Jesus” and “Samerio”. There were also the visits to the museums in Porto, where the wonderful Marta introduced me to the artists of considerable significance and authenticity (Aurelia and Sofia de Souza). However, what I would single out as something of indispensable importance for our project, or so as to say my future play, are my conversations with the wonderful Sara Barros Leitao, who really had something to say to those really willing to listen. Through the dialogue with her, I’ve gained a comprehensive insight into the Portuguese literature, female writers and the role and place of women in Portuguese society through history as well as nowadays. The shear passion and the extent of knowledge with which Sara discussed these topics is equally important for my work as I consider her to be one of the representatives of the new Portugal, the ambassador of a strong female voice, the kind that changes the history.
I would also like to thank the Organizers of the Project for their hospitality, with a special mention of those people who I can now also call my friends: Hugo Loureiro, Maria Ines Marques, Julio Cerdeira and Catia Faisco. They made Braga fell like a home away from home for me.
B25 – With the so far conducted research, what do you think is the interconnection between the Montenegrin and Portuguese everyday struggles? What are the major similarities and differences regarding the topics tackled in this project?
(SM) – There are many similarities at the fundamental level. The patterns of the discriminatory behavior are everywhere more or less the same (femicide, domestic and sexual abuse, sexual harassment, the role of a woman as someone who has to suffer for her family by default …). What is different between Montenegro and Portugal is the fact that in Portugal women’s rights were fought for and adopted gradually, while in Montenegro this change happened practically overnight after the World War II, although be it just in theory. While one of the main issues in Portugal is the gender pay gap, this isn’t the case in Montenegro. On the other hand, in Montenegro there is a still existing practice of the female children waiving their inheritance in favor of their brothers, selective abortions and the beforementioned Virdžina phenomenon, which we shall only hope is slowly dying out nowadays.
B25 – What do you strive for the impact of the “Sexual Theatre” project to be?
What I consider to be the most important goal of all these strivings is for the women in all the countries participants of the project (Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Montenegro) to realize that they are not alone and that they and their problems are seen. The stepping stone here would be to speak about the problems they face on a daily basis. It is important to recognize and name those problems in order to address them directly. It is our responsibility as active members of society to be the voice of all the women not being able to take a stand for any particular reason and to give them strength and support. All this being said, the decision makers should start finding solutions for these issues. This would be an ideal state of affairs, but we wouldn’t be artists if we weren’t idealists, won’t we.
B25 – How do you see the representation of women in Montenegro’s literary classics?
(SM) – The classic canon of Montenegrin literature was significantly influenced by patriarchal social models and values. Women often remain at the level of sketches, lacking sufficient individualization and their physiognomy, as writers were generally, as a rule, more interested in the collective, the undifferentiated anonymous mass, rather than the individual. Incomplete characterization and episodicity often keep female characters within the realm of a mere single characteristic, a single idea, thus distancing them from the realm of the real. Thus, they often appear as embodiments of character traits or specific ethical categories (cunningness, evilness, modesty, infidelity, etc.). The appearance or mention of women is often accompanied by value stereotypes and provisions of patriarchal society, especially folk sayings that typically degrade women. She is often the source of evil, punishment, and shame.
There is no scientific method that could explain why there are almost no women in Montenegrin literature who appear with their full name and surname but are mostly mentioned as someone’s wives, mothers, or sisters. Personal identification is nullified, and women are placed in a part of the wider, usually male, world.
The narrators remain within the domain of their representations of women’s understanding – women are bearers of negative qualities or meek and obedient victims.
Inevitably, in the portrayal of heroines, they carried the inertia of the patriarchal world they depicted. Women appear in a positive light only as a symbol of female courage and heroism, not as true heroines in their own right.
You can get to know Stela better in the first episode of Braga 25’s videocast “O Lugar” (“The Place”). Watch it here.