Fine performances lend authenticity to powerful show
DESPITE the lack of originality in its message, Cheers to Sarajevo is a powerful piece of theatre that engrosses its audience.
This is due to the commitment of performance from the ensemble of actors under masterful direction from Ashleigh Harvey. Furthermore, the staging is ingenious, suggesting much with very little.
As is often the case in dangerous situations, young people caught up in the maelstrom react with a passionate lust for life bordering on hysteria, and this is conveyed convincingly in Cheers to Sarajevo. A wild young Bosnian girl (Mirela), in love with a Serbian youth (Aleks), becomes increasingly aware that this romance is doomed by their respective allegiance to opposing sides in the conflict. Her personal tragedy mirrors the collective tragedy of everything going on around her.
Hormonal exuberance between the lovers, a little glamorous fantasy, bouts of drinking and incessant smoking all suggest a yearning to escape the pervasive horror of their situation, and different perspectives are offered by the other two characters, a South African photo journalist (Peter) and a childhood acquaintance of the couple, another Serbian named Slobo, whose commitment to the war is far stronger than that of Aleks.
Co-author of the play and female lead, Goldsmith is impressive in the role of Mirela, with Moulton-Black as Aleks providing a suitable foil to her intensity. Jubber (Peter) offers his usual brand of intelligent interpretation. Bonhomme epitomises the soldier whose personality – and humanity – are dissipated by war.