Mother and Child

Original title Mog og barn

Première 29 September 2024, Pula, Croatia

Running time 1 hour and 5 minutes. No intermission.

Author Jon Fosse
Direction, visual concept Matija Ferlin 
Translator Dubravko Torjanac
Dramaturge Vedrana Klepica
Music and sound designer Luka Prinčič
Lighting designer Elvis Butković

Cast
Mati Jadranka Đokić
Otrok Ugo Korani

Mother and Child stands as one of the earlier dramatic masterpieces by the remarkable Norwegian author Jon Fosse. Its title, both simple and monumental, adeptly encapsulates a profound duodrama exploring the intricacies of communication within one of the most complex human relationships: that between mother and child. In Fosse's narrative, a mother and son reunite after years of estrangement, only to find that even the brief time they spent together failed to fulfill the needs of either party. This absence ignites a fundamental inquiry into the essence of the maternal bond and the emotional and psychological ramifications it entails. Written in Fosse's signature style characterized by verbal minimalism, rhythmic consistency, and a deliberate lack of punctuation, Mother and Child navigates through silence and hesitation, inviting readers to confront the transgenerational trauma stemming from the clash between personal freedom and familial duty, the struggle for autonomy, and the right to love amidst difficult choices. In his directorial debut as the artistic helm of INK Pula, Matija Ferlin collaborates with Jadranka Đokić and Ugo Korani to craft a theatrically potent, psychologically evocative, and thematically intricate exploration of the most elemental boundaries of intimacy and affection.