Stage adaptation of Jančar's novel And Love Itself
Feb 7 2025 Maribor, Ljubljana
And Love Itself, a stage adaptation of the novel by writer Drago Jančar that tells a monumental story about protecting love and dignity in a time of hate, will have its Ljubljana premiere on 7 February after opening in Maribor on 16 January.
Produced by the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor in cooperation with Ljubljana's Cankarjev Dom, the play follows the success of the stage adaptation of Jančar's novel I Saw Her That Night.
The story of love, hatred and humanity takes place in Maribor, in the last months of the Second World War. The brutal naturalist nature of life intertwines with the poetics and metaphysics of dreams both in the novel and the stage production.
The heart of novels like And Love Itself lies in the complex network of relationships and perspectives, director Luka Marcen said ahead of the premiere. The adaptation is in fact four plays in one as it portrays four main characters and their lives.
The title of the novel might seem silly compared to the monumental time it depicts but it was not chosen at random, Jančar said, stressing that the question of love is at the core of the novel.