Hundreds of young people assembled at the Dodona theatre to witness the performance titled “Take care of the one you love”. The performance was directed by Dardana Mehmeti, and actors included: Aulona Prokshi, Edon Shileku, Gresa Xhema, Veton Gjinaj, Nitë Makolli dhe Skënder Podvorica.
This performance dealt with the topic of early marriages and gender based violence, and depicted a 17 year old teenager, victim of early marriage and unwanted pregnancy. As a result of this, she was also faced with physical violence from her husband of a same age.
The actors very emotionally and professionally performed many moments that are experienced by women and girls in abusive relationships, such as her friends’ attempts to help her, and her fear that her family will not support her if she decides to leave her abusive husband. The genre of this performance was forum-theatre, and its objective was to increase awareness among youth on early marriage, abusive relationships, and unwanted pregnancy
“It is very important for young people to witness reality and deal with the consequences of their actions,” said the director of the performance, Dardana Mehmeti. “We use theater as a medium for raising awareness and tackle topics that are faced by youth. This medium is much more attractive than lectures, which are frequently seen as boring. Through theatre, on the other hand, they learn lessons that stick to their memory”. At the end of the performance, the viewers had the opportunity to ask questions to the characters. Artpolis attempts to perform this performance as much as possible so that awareness can be raised among youth on these negative occurrences. This initiative was supported by the American Embassy in Kosovo.