Goran Stefanovski once shared in a lecture that theatre serves as a distorted mirror of reality – a medium that magnifies and amplifies the messages we wish to share with the world. The most effective way to achieve this, he said, is by borrowing from writers greater than ourselves and from the raw material of life.

Marta Verina is a play that has taken every line directly from reality. It peers through a keyhole, offering glimpses into life behind closed doors. At times, it ventures so deeply into uncomfortable intimacy that it compels us to confront truths we’d rather avoid. The characters in this play are familiar—they are people we encounter every day, people we love, loathe, or simply observe. Yet, they are far from caricatures of good or evil. Instead, they embody the full spectrum of humanity: flawed, complex, and contradictory. They are, at once, profoundly right and profoundly wrong.

In Marta Verina, the characters gradually strip away the defenses they have built to protect themselves from the world’s harshness. What remains is an unfiltered view of who we truly are when we dare to look honestly at ourselves. The play invites us to confront this distorted mirror, where our imperfections are magnified—but so too is our humanity.

Marta Verina is a play about people—men, women, and children—and the profound ways our actions ripple through the lives of those closest to us. At its heart, however, it is a story about love. Inspired by the timeless poetry of Aco Shopov, the play weaves a connection between past and present, reminding us that the core of human experience remains unchanged. Poems penned over half a century ago resonate with the same immediacy today, capturing the essence of characters who exist not just in the here and now, but everywhere and always. Through the familiar words we hear and speak every day, Marta Verina explores those pivotal moments in life when words fall short. As Marta herself might say: “When people fall in love, drift apart, or say goodbye, it’s never really about the words.”

Dragana Lukan Nikoloski 

Written, mixed, and produced by Andreja Salpe, except Vežbaj and Otrov, which were composed by Oliver Mitkovski. The lyrics for all songs are by Aco Šopov, except for tracks 7 and 9.

Saxophone on Nebidnina (Jazzy Version) by Vasko Bojadžiski.
Spoken word by Oliver Mitkovski.

Tam-Tam, Nebidnina, Vežbaj, Tišina, and Otrov mastered by Goran Kan.
Izsemnina, Nebidnina (Jazzy Version), Pofonova Poraka, and Entry mastered by Vladan Drobicki.

A co-production between the Macedonian National Theatre and Peripetija Production.
Premiered on 8 November 2024.