PINOCCHIO 4-0-D
Third play of „Wizard of O.Z.“ was „Pinocchio 4-0-D“. It was played on 4th September 2009 on the stage of UK „Vuk Karadzic“ in Belgrade, in the full hall of the stage „Cult“.
Play was prepared during summer 2009 with five remaining members of the group that were dispersing during whole year. Since 2008 most of the crew had to leave Hospital and to go to some other prisons in Serbia for the remaining of their penalty. This project in the delicate moment when group stopped working on almost finalized forum play that required 12 characters. Simply, five remaining participants couldn’t cope with such number of characters. In that moment, from conversation that lead us toward conclusion that they (prisoners/participants of the workshop) actually want to work something completely different than prison and addiction – the idea about fairytale was born. Pinocchio appeared and submerged from our collective oblivion. When we started to recall the story we realized that Pinocchio unbelievably resembled on some of them. So, that’s how we moved from Point A to Point B to some other Point A. „Group decides“ was the rule I decided to follow in this project.
This is how „Pinocchio 4-0-D“ (4-0-D is the name of reception block of Special Prison Hospital). Carlo Collodie’s heavy and dark story in their hands became bitter and painful biography of one puppet – marionette, heroin addict, which would definitely look today the same way it was represented by prisoners.
Judging by exhilarated reactions of the audience we can say that this play was more social, collective biography than personal story about Pinocchio or prisoners. Trough this vivid and truthful theater event, both prisoners and audience suddenly became parts of the same struggle for life. And while people, heavier for the load of impressions and lighter for some quantity of tears, where dispersing trough the city after the play, reality outside was showing that society and it’s institutions steel sleep their death dream. Ganja was intensively smelling from nearby corners.