- The World That Stands Between Us,
- 2024
- 2 male - 4 female [minimal number of actors: 4]
Playwright: Katerina Louvari Fasoi
- The World That Stands Between Us is set in a mountain village devastated by the bloodshed of civil war. Only a few years have passed since the war ended, yet the characters remain trapped in its aftermath. Every family carries a story; every story carries grief, an endless lament. The roar of fratricidal violence still lingers, like dust blown by the wind above the villagers’ heads. Nothing but laments and songs of mourning echo through the village. A single spark could ignite a fire capable of consuming everything in its path. The Mother lost her husband and her children in the war — every male member of her household except one, her youngest son. She is preparing for his marriage to the Bride, an ethereal, extraordinary creature whom not even “the wind dares touch a single hair on her head.” Her own family, too, has been shattered by the war: after losing her children, her mother descended into madness and took her own life. As preparations for the wedding begin and the entire village gathers to share a rare moment of joy, fate has a blood-soaked ending in store. A figure from the past, the Young Man, appears, determined to steal the Bride away and make her his forever. Death lies in wait: the two men kill one another. They have known each other before; they fought on opposing sides. The war has never truly ended. It still stands between them, and the Bride has become its prize. At the heart of the play lies the conflict between people who share the same roots: a blow, the movement of one body colliding with another moving body — a brother’s body. A clash of opposing forces. The characters are consumed by hatred, fear and hope, psychologically torn in two. The Mother fears losing her last surviving child while simultaneously demanding vengeance for her dead. The Bridegroom dreams of a new life free from conflict and war, yet ultimately kills his enemy. Having mourned her mother’s suicide, the Bride asks the Mother for eternal deliverance. The women of the village — grieving on the one hand, yet filled with anticipation of joy on the other — heighten the tension of the conflict simply through their presence and their songs.