summary of the play

The Finger is satire on the situation in transitional countries after the fall of crony communism and flowering of the crony capitalism. JANKO (60) is the greatest Slovenian writer, famous dissident – something that doesn't sell in modern times. His creativity is blocked.

His wife BARBRA (48) is former model and now fights for the spiritual development of the humankind. After a series of events Barbara changes her husband into something that her nation currently needs: a saint. Janko disagrees and wants to flee.

In the end, they reach the compromise: Barbra cut Janko's finger off and get her holy relict of the new religion, while Janko can start writing his new novel.

biography of the playwright
  • 27 books published in 9 languages
  • Short stories selected for many anthologies including Pushcart Prize 2011
  • Screenwriter of 2 award-winning feature films (Golden Palm for the best film of the XXII Mostra de Valencia, European CIRCOM Award for the Best TV Film of 1992)
  • Writer and director of 5 short films (Best director award at the Highgate Film Festival in London, best short film of 2011 at the Slovenian film festival)
  • MA in Creative Writing for Film and Television, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
  • PhD in Anthropology of Everyday Life, Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis, Slovenia
extract of the text

Suzy's monologue:

Suzy sits on the serving table and starts to tell a story. Barbra and Andy keep eating, Desiree is listening attentively.

Suzy:   The Clash had split up, too, Sid was already dead, so was Tito, punk was gone, but I still had the desire to sing. To have a band, to appear on stage where everyone is looking at you. You're nervous, you're panicking, but then you just begin. Begin doing what you know how to do and then you see in their eyes that they are starting to like you. That they are forgetting the world, themselves, everything, that they belong to you. Not stadiums and that, that's for money, to get the right feeling you have to be in a club, in a small place. Well, I had a band again, the drummer wasn't too good, but he was an electrician, just in case there were problems with the amplifiers again. I swore to myself that I wouldn't say anything. I wanted to be a punk singer under socialism, not a prisoner. But everything had changed in the world, the new romantics and weird costumes, nothing but kitsch on stage. I talked to the band and we came up with the idea that we should liven up our shows. The guitarist had a cousin who was a midget. We dressed him up as a cowboy and he jumped around the stage, waving pistols, and sang a few choruses. It looked great, really funny. And so one day we start a concert, the audience is in the right mood when suddenly that same guy is standing next to me again. I thought it was a nightmare.

            "Inspector Pavlič! The law of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia prohibits any criticism of the character and work of our leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito. You must come with me."

I lowered my head and went with him. At the station they showed me a photograph of Tito and on it he wore the same cowboy hat as our midget and so they said we were mocking Tito. I said but that is Tito, a marshal, he is standing on his ship, while our guy is a midget from a council flat, how could they possibly have anything in common? They said I shouldn't try to use minor details as an excuse and they put me in prison for half a year.

I'm so glad those fucking times are over!

She spits on the floor, picks up the empty tray and goes back to the kitchen.

technical elements

8 characters + some extras. 4 scenes, 3 locatios (dining room, bedroom, son's room)

First performance: Vesel teater, 2011, Slovenia, www.veselteater.si

Book: Prst, publishing house Exslibris, 2012, Slovenia

list of the languages in which the play is already translated

English

contact of the owner of the rights

Miha Mazzini

Tavcarjeva 15

Ljubljana, Slovenia 1000

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+386/41-737-849 (mobile)

www.MihaMazzini.com

any information about financial possibilities in translation from Slovenian

English translation of the whole piece is here:

http://www.mihamazzini.com/besedila/Finger.zip