On Saturday 4 December 2010 a performance of Boris Pahor's Nekropola was staged in Slovene at the Verdi Theatre in Trieste.

The initiative for the staging of Nekropola ('Pilgrim among the Shadows') in the author's home city was made by the City of Trieste and the Mayor Roberto Dipiazza, marking the start of closer cultural co-operation between Ljubljana and Trieste.

The performance, held in Slovene with Italian subtitles, was part of the Ljubljana – World Book Capital 2010 programme. It was a coproduction of the Celinka Society, KUD Pod Topoli and Ljubljana City Theatre.

The performance was followed by a discussion with academic Boris Pahor, candidate for the Nobel Prize and spokesman for Slovenian Literature that brings a cosmopolitan spirit to Slovenia as an EU member.

The hosting of the performance and further cultural co-operation between Ljubljana and Trieste were showcased at a press conference in Trieste on Monday 22 November 2010 by the mayors of both cities, Zoran Janković and Roberto Dipiazza, the head of the City of Ljubljana's Department for Culture Dr Uroš Grilc, performance director Boris Kobal and manager of the Giuseppe Verdi Theatre Antonio Calenda.

Boris Pahor

Boris Pahor is the greatest Slovene writer who we, in the year that Ljubljana bears the title of UNESCO World Book Capital, named spokesman of Slovenian literature. June saw the premiere staging of a dramatisation of his Nekropola, which was warmly appreciated by the Slovenian public and the universal theme of which – the preservation of humanity in conditions of absolute evil – led to calls after the show for a performance outside the Slovenian cultural space.

Thus it was with pleasure that we accepted the initiative of the City of Trieste and its Mayor Roberto Dipiazza that there should be a performance staged in Boris Pahor's home city. In every way we are to witness a spectacular event that pushes the boundaries of existing cultural exchanges between cities.

About the performance

The performance of Nekropola is a dramatisation of Boris Pahor's novel of the same name and was a coproduction of the Celinka Society, KUD Pod Topoli and Ljubljana City Theatre. The theatrical interpretation of Nekropola stimulates thinking about ethics, victims of ideologies, survival in extreme points of dehumanisation and confrontation with pure impersonal evil. Given the times in which we live, the possibility of tampering with and denial of historical fact is highly likely, ever present and thus dangerous. Sadly, contemporary events prove that history continues to repeat itself and every form of collective amnesia or simple ignorance is likely to lead to repetition in the future.

Director: Boris Kobal
Dramaturge: Klavdija Zupan
Set designer: Jože Logar