Musical, monodrama
Written, directed, and scored by Silence
Produced by Anton Podbevšek Theatre
Opening night: October 10th 2024
More info: antonpodbevsekteater.si

Thanks to the intensity of the scenes, Katarina Stegnar’s superb interpretation of the text, and the sublimity of Boris Benko's magical vocals, there is a constant, intense aesthetic and sensory identification [...] The final effect is complementary and coherent in the sense of an almost ideal, self-contained stage poem. — Peter Rak, Delo

K. is a hapless composer who finds herself in the dock. Strangely enough, she’s become a defendant after being found guilty. Her guilt brings her the highest punishment: a lifelong trial. A lifelong dissection of her actions. A lifelong criminalisation of her goals. Without the possibility of pardon.

To make matters worse, the tribunal strictly sanctions all forms of innocence. Luckily, it allows musical and dance performances.

Proces(i) can be described as a rather unique theatrical event. It represents Silence's directorial debut. It was based on an original script by Silence. What’s more, Hladnik and Benko took the stage. Not only as musicians, but also as supporting actors… and dancers.

The project, inspired by Franz Kafka’s 1925 novel The Trial, marked the centenary of Kafka’s death.

Kafka’s influence is easily detectable: the play’s protagonist, played by actress Katarina Stegnar, is named K. The goings-on, which have all the hallmarks of a public trial, are eminently bureaucratic and surreal.

Despite the general surrealness of the play, Proces(i) is marked by a disarming frankness. The play is replete with autobiographical titbits, which shed light on the duet’s world view and writing process. In the words of dramaturge Stojan Pelko: The very extreme concreteness, almost tangibility of words previously only heard (sung), which now come to us accompanied by the genesis of the thoughts that gave birth to them; the painful realness of doubts, fears, obsessions, and phantoms, now opening up graphically before our eyes and reaching our hearts, are the key virtual values of Proces(i). In the sound of Hladnik's black-and-white keys and in the hand and voice of Benko, we will henceforth see shadows and know secrets that we had previously only heard and sensed.

Proces(i) includes six songs, which are performed live by the duet, and a number of pre-recorded instrumental tracks.