Mladinsko Theatre, Ljubljana, premiere 24 May /2025
In 1991, a women’s strike took place in front of the parliament building in Ljubljana. It was one of two such strikes to take place in Slovenia. Women, together with men, gathered to protest against the removal of Article 55 from the Constitution of the newly emerging state of Slovenia, which had just separated from Yugoslavia. The latest piece by Tjaša Črnigoj, creator of Sex Education II, explores his part of Slovenian history .
Črnigoj’s performance can be seen as a continuation of her Sex Education II series, particularly its final part, Fight, which focused on reproductive rights and contraception in Yugoslavia. This piece continues to address that subject, which might feel repetitive to those familiar with the earlier production, however, this time Črnigoj moves beyond the documentary format to incorporate the personal stories of the actors, creating a vision of how the female body has been and continues to be perceived. This gives the play a much broader scope than just the story of protests in Ljubljana.
The performance is staged in the lower hall of the Mladinsko Theatre, which also sometimes serves as a club venue for techno parties. This thematically aligns with the play’s subject matter, as in the 1990s, female activists organized parties in one of Slovenia’s well-known clubs to celebrate and discuss issues surrounding the titular article. In this longitudinally arranged audience space, the performers re-enact their own stories and those of Slovenia. The layout of the stage is not particularly comfortable, neither for the audience, nor, it seems, for the performers, who must work within this long, narrow space. However, a small portion of the stage has been left intact, where the actresses sometimes sit or sing songs. The rest of the stage area is covered by a white curtain, onto which relevant information or interviews with women who were key activists at the time are projected. To the right and left of this curtain, white lace curtains have been hung, evoking memories of grandmothers’ homes and traditional women’s work.
The costumes consist of colourful sportswear or loungewear. Their intriguing combinations of colours and textures give the impression of controlled chaos. One of the actors wears a worker’s outfit reminiscent of those seen on communist posters portraying strong working women. Additionally, the actors have shiny stickers attached to their foreheads, which can be interpreted as a symbol of the superpowers possessed by the show’s protagonists. Since the creators reference witches in the script, the costumes can also be seen as representations of modern witches. One of the most interesting elements of the costume that appears at the end is a Slovenian hat called an avba – characteristic of the Gorenjska region. The actor wearing this hat can be interpreted as a personification of the Slovenian constitution.
The performance begins with stories about the female body – how women themselves see it, how others perceive it, and how it is treated. Personal experiences blend with the feminist movement in history – herstory – as the actresses’ private stories could just as well have been lived by women in the past century, or even in ancient times. This approach gives the performance a universal quality, metaphorically taking it beyond Slovenia, while at the same time emphasizing that it is also a story about women from here. The actresses often say things like, ‘this is a story that could have happened to a woman in the 1980s,’ showing that it’s also their own story — and then tell the same story as if it happened a hundred years ago. This long introductory part serves as a herstorical device. It is followed by a section that condenses the history of abortion in Yugoslavia, which was previously explored in greater depth in Sex Education II.
Article 55, Mladinsko Theatre
After these scenes came time for the story from the 90s. The performance presents, in a detailed manner – as confirmed by the sources cited in the program – the process of inscribing Article 55 into the constitution. What we are dealing with here is a precisely constructed piece of documentary theatre. Drawing on documents and photographs obtained from a museum, as well as interviews, the audience is gradually introduced to the history of the 1991 strikes and the development of the feminist movement in Slovenia. The creators show, one by one, the women who helped write the constitution and lead the strikes. By showing their faces on screen, the story feels more real and goes beyond just words. And when words do appear, they are those of the activists, doctors, and abortion rights advocates themselves taken directly from recorded interviews. The storytelling is interwoven with images from the spectacular strike. We learn that women used to gather in a club to discuss and fight for their rights. Archival footage is also shown from a political meeting in which only two women were present. However both of them struggled to be heard. The performance also addresses the history of the pro-life movement in Slovenia, including mysterious video tapes imported from the U.S. and supported by the Catholic Church.
The entire piece is presented in a minimalist style, with no changes in set design or major shifts in form. For the most part, it relies on storytelling theatre, carried by the actresses. They skilfully bring their stories to life on stage, but the repetition of certain scenes and motifs starts to feel a bit monotonous over time. I found myself wishing for a bit more variety in theatrical techniques, which could have added additional layers to the performance.
The strength of this performance lies in its research and honesty. These qualities have also been also evident in the director’s earlier works. The creators skilfully interweave elements characteristic of feminist theatre, women’s theatre, and auto theatre with archival material. One of the production’s greatest assets is its focus on local history, which perhaps surprisingly, takes on an affirmative tone. Contemporary theatre often adopts a critical stance: criticizing the system, the regime, and those in power. In contrast, Črnigoj’s performance is affirmative. From beginning to end, the actresses repeat that Slovenia was the first country to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution. Even when recounting moments when this right was threatened, the director does not portray women as victims. Instead, she consistently constructs a narrative of Slovenian women as fighters who do not give up. The scenes are carefully crafted to inspire admiration for their resistance and courage. This shift in theatrical storytelling, one that addresses both national identity and women’s history, opens up new narrative perspectives. These are not stories of victimhood or blind celebration, but expressions of genuine respect for the past and for the people who shaped it. The affirmation of women’s history has become a trademark of Tjaša Črnigoj’s artistic voice.
In the program note, we read that the performance was inspired by a thought expressed by Polish performer Gosia Wdowik: “This is a story with too many possible beginnings and few endings,” from her piece She was a friend of someone else. As a Polish woman, I couldn’t agree with this statement more. As the performance demonstrates, the right to abortion is not a universally accepted one. And that precisely why protecting it is so important. However, the history of this right varies greatly from country to country. In Poland, women were unable to secure it, they were ignored. In Slovenia, by contrast, the right to abortion is enshrined in the Constitution, which gives it a strong legal foundation. Though there are certainly ways it could be challenged. In Poland, people didn’t believe for a long time that the so-called abortion compromise (already highly conservative) could be made even more restrictive. This is why it is so important to create performances that tell local stories, stories that Slovenians can take pride in. They serve as a reminder that behind these rights are real women who fought for them – for themselves and for future generations.
Credits:
Director: Tjaša Črnigoj//Artistic collaboration, Set & Costume design: Tijana Todorović//Script: Tamara Avguštin, Tjaša Črnigoj, Anja Novak, Katarina Stegnar, Miranda Trnjanin// Dramaturgy: Urška Brodar, Tjaša Črnigoj//Music and sound: Tomaž Grom//Video: Ana Čigon//Lighting design & Video: Borut Bučinel
For more information, visit: Mladinsko.com
Further reading: Tjaša Črnigoj: “Women’s sexual pleasure is still taboo in our society”
Further reading: review of Sex Education II
Karolina Bugajak is a theater critic from Poland, currently living in Ljubljana. She studied culture and contemporary art at the University of Lodz. The title of her master's thesis was "Theatricality and Exaggeration. Camp aesthetics as a strategy for creating new identities in the plays of Grzegorz Jaremko". Her main theatrical interests include topics such as institutional criticism, the representation of marginalized groups in plays, and most recently the theater of the former Yugoslav states.
