‘Cheers to Sarajevo’ – a voice that will not be silenced
Aimee Goldsmith is a young Johannesburg actress and playwright who is leaving her mark on the local theatrical landscape with thought-provoking productions.
PETER FELDMAN
Fresh from her stint as Lola, a French prostitute, in Waiting for Jack, the former King David Linksfield learner is now tackling a new production at the Auto & General Theatre on the Square in Sandton, Cheers to Sarajavo, a play she co-wrote and also stars in. It also features Duane Behrens, Chris van Rensburg, Yiorgo Sotoropolis and Julian Kruger.
Giving background, Goldsmith told Jewish Report that she experienced aspects of the former Yugoslavia at the age of 14 when she took part in a karate competition in Novi Sad. “It was my first time travelling to Europe and the first time I had encountered the reality of war, not only physically, but also psychologically.
“I’ve been acting for 14 years and started at the Johannesburg Youth Theatre under Joyce Levinsohn. I performed in a number of productions there until I matriculated. At King David my drama teacher Clara Taub instilled in me a passion for theatre.”
Goldsmith met Croatian Lidija Marelic at Wits who also harboured a terrible experience of the war in her own country. The two women, both in theatre, decided there was a story that needed to be told and Cheers to Sarajevo was born. The theme was the power of women to maintain love and hope in war.
“We knew we did not want to show any side as being the aggressor but rather make war the enemy. What better place to set our play than in Sarajevo where all people lived side by side.
“We began by interviewing former Yugoslavs living in South Africa. We spoke to people from all fronts of the war and watched countless documentaries and movies.”
The overwhelming task made them want to give up at times, but then they remembered why they were telling the story. “It has a voice that will not be silenced and this was the incentive to keep pushing.
“As the ‘born free’ generation in South Africa, our responsibility is to honour the freedom struggle and its heroes by attempting to forge a new future that embraces our diversities. It is important that we don’t romanticise our past and forget its destruction. Overcoming hate was what gave birth to our new nation, and it is that same hate that can easily undo it.”
* The play opens on September 20 and runs until October 8.