IF YOU’RE HAPPY, anticelebration
Photo: Nada Žgank
IF YOU’RE HAPPY
The repetitive children’s song that was being diligently taught in kindergartens and primary schools, around the time when the idea of liberalism was being born in the collapsing Yugoslavia. I still remember how I tried to “shout my hurray” and create a feeling of that happiness, one of the first indoctrinations of the new, post-socialist ideology.
The performance If You’re Happy is a cultural and artistic anti-celebration. If celebration seeks to celebrate the illusion of a country, worth of dignity, anti-celebration examines what this dignity represents and what are its foundations. If the celebrations in our country are censored, it is precisely the opposite with anti-celebrations: they speak about the issues that the censors are trying to remove from celebrations. If celebration consists of a well-defined protocol, anti-celebration is charged with the experimental and ritual character.
I am glad that I had the honour to be directing this year’s anti-celebration. The political leaders, who will carry out social improvements based on its constructive criticism, will be grateful, and so will be the people who may recognize themselves in the mirror of their own miseries and the miseries of the others.
If you’re happy, shout hurray!
Andrej Jus, director
Nursery rhyme “If You’re Hungry”
If you are hungry, you go eat. If you eat, you are full. If you are full, you are tired. If you are tired, you go to sleep. If you go to sleep, you sleep. If you sleep, you rest. If you are rested, you become hungry. If you are hungry, you want to eat. If you want to eat and have nothing to eat, you are sad. If you are sad, you cry. If you cry, you get on people’s nerves. If you get on people’s nerves, they frown on you. If they frown on you, they are afraid. If they are afraid, they are avoiding you. If they are avoiding you, you are invisible. If you are invisible, you are completely alone in the world. If you are alone in the world, there is no you. If there is no you, you do not exist. If you do not exist, you are dead. If you are dead, you are not hungry. If you are not hungry, you are happy. If you are happy, slap your knees!
Credits:
Artists: Andrej Jus, Ana Duša, Špela Frlic, Nataša Živković, Polona Janežič, Brane Zorman
Director: Andrej Jus
On the stage: Ana Duša, Špela Frlic, Nataša Živković, Polona Janežič
Set and costume design: Urša Vidic
Music, musical arrangements, recording: Polona Janežič
Sound design: Brane Zorman
Vocals: Ana Duša, Nataša Živković, Polona Janežič
Voices of children: Borut Bončina, Jakob Žefran, Lara Bončina, Naja Novak Čehajič, Naomi Uma Zorman, Vid Žefran, Djuna Greta Vidrih, pupils of Savo Kladnik primary school, Sevnica
Technical director and lighting design: Andrej Petrovčič
Design: Tanja Radež
Producer: Alma R. Selimović
Public relations: Tamara Bračič Vidmar
Produced by: Bunker, Ljubljana
Translation: Tadej Turnšek
Cover photo: Tina Kosec, Nada Žgank
The performance is supported by: EU – Program Culture, Ministry for Culture of Slovenia, Ljubljana City Municipality
The performance was created in the framework of the Connect Tapes project within the international network Create to Connect, funded by the EU programme Creative Europe, sub-programme Culture.
Performances:
Premiere:
26th February 2016, Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
Past performances:
27th and 28th February 2016, Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
6th and 7th May 2016, Stara mestna elektrarna – Elektro Ljubljana
On the road:
9th July 2016, Spectrum Theaterfestival, Villach, Austria
Critiques:
Petra Tanko: Premiere of the performance If You’Re Happy, Radio Slovenija 1, 27th February 2016
Maja V: Anti-celebration, Radio Študent, 29th February 2016
Nenad Jelesijević: It’s not about the state, RTVSlo.si, 29th February 2016
Jedrt Jež: If You’re Not Happy and Don’t Want To Share It, Just Step On a Cat’s Tail, fokuspokus.si, 11th March 2016
Flyer:
Video:
Video: Gregor Gobec
CD – Music from the performance If You Are Happy
- This Is Our Future 2.55
- If You Are Happy 2.03
- Oedipus Complex 4.35
- The Black Man Riding 4.35
Music, musical arrangements: Polona Janežič
Vocals: Ana Duša, Nataša Živković, Polona Janežič
Sound design: Brane Zorman
Production: Bunker, Ljubljana, 2016
Photography:
Photo: Nada Žgank, Bunker’s Archive
Info: info@bunker.si
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