Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes the archival document of 1979 with the secret report of the Director of State Security, Feçor Shehu, addressed to the secretary of the Central Committee of the ALP, Ramiz Alia, regarding the two well-known playwrights, Fadil Kraja and Naum Prifti, for two their dramas “Last Night” and “With a rifle and a pen” which are labeled with “hostile content”, as well as the response of the instructor of the Central Committee, Jakup Mato, regarding the measures taken…
Several years ago, at the initiative of the Shkodra Writers’ Association, family, friends, colleagues, writers, actors, journalists, art lovers, etc., gathered to celebrate the 85th birthday of Fadil Kraja, one of the most famous playwrights of the country, who has long been honored by the President of the Republic with the high title “Grand Master”.
In his 60-year career, Fadil Kraja counts a literary creation with dozens of works, mainly in the genre of drama, staged by the theater “Migjeni” of Shkodra, and also theater troupes from all other cities in Albania. Although with a long artistic career, with many, many dramas put on the stages of all our cities, as well as with a comfortable family life, rich artistic career very successful, had not always offered him peace….?! There have often been problems, often so complex, that they could change the whole course of his life…
Finishing, from the theater scenes, in the galleries of Spaç galleries, or in the best case interned in a lost village of the fields of Myzeqe. And everything came to him from “envious colleagues”, who informed the State Security about the “dramas with ideological limitations” written by Fadil Karja and that were being staged by the theater troupe “Andon Zako Çajupi” of Korça. This, among other things, is made known by two archival documents with the logo “secret”, where the former Director of State Security and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Feçorr Shehu, informs the Central Committee of the ALP and personally Ramiz Alina, regarding his drama “The Last Night”, which was being staged by the Korça troupe, and also for another drama, of his colleague (“With rifle and pen”), Naum Prifti, the writer of known as the greatest Albanian master in the genre of storytelling.
In that report-information, as the Director of Security points out, he wrote it with the support of “a specialized source within the premises of art”, which then brought a lot of trouble and problems to the well-known playwright.
INSURANCE INFORMATION FOR RAMIZ ALINE
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA Secret
MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS Copy no. 1
FIRST DIRECTORY
Nr. 2356 Prot.
Tirana, on 20.5.1979
Subject: On two ideologically flawed dramas
SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ALP
SHOKUT RAMIZ ALIA
TIRANA
From our two sources, which are from the ranks of art premises and specialized in this field, it turns out that recently, the professional theater of Korça has staged the drama “Last Night” by Fadil Kraja, which is said to be with ideological flaws. The following problems are summarized:
At the center of the drama is placed a patriotic mountaineer, but also patriarchal. As the village will be flooded by the waters of a hydropower lake, his family will move along with the village. The highlander refused to leave that house, driven by his probate (brother), who twenty years ago killed his brother, but that he knows nothing. Behind him is also the matchmaker who undertakes to betroth the blind mountaineer’s blind son to a girl who once broke off the engagement that had been tied since the cradle, in the middle of the village. When he says to the bride “Why did you come?”, She replies: “My father forced me and now I cannot leave the second husband that my father gives me, because no one takes me anymore.” And the bride leaves because the groom insists, while the groom’s father, finally agrees with the son’s opinion only after he learns that the groom is his brother’s killer.
From the point of view of our sources, the drama does not present the reality of our life, while referring to it, the force of social opinion appears faint, the characters of young ages do not come out active, do not take any concrete action against this betrothal they knew. The progressive young woman is represented by the son of this house, Gëzimi, who is blind, and by the bride who comes to this house, who has been engaged once since the cradle and has broken this engagement in the middle of the village as a warrior. of the cloud, inspired by the word of comrade Enver of February 6, while the author brings her out again engaged by matchmaking for the second time, broken by that habit which she has kicked before. With this kind of treatment, it is thought that the personality of the Albanian woman is not protected and her figure does not appear at all, as it was during that war period in defense of the implementation of the teachings of the party and Comrade Enver, for the rights of women and girls.
Next, the master of the house only turns when he realizes that the matchmaker is the bloodthirsty one who killed his brother. So, the blood sets it in motion and not the new that is going on, the work of the party and its lessons.
In addition to the above, the staging is also intertwined with the decor of the show, which is cool and unrealistic.
Also, for the drama of Naum Prifti “With a rifle and a pen” from these sources it turns out that this work also has ideological flaws, which the theater of Elbasan refused to stage, while the theater of Korca and he Fier are working to put it on stage.
Above the above, it is probably appropriate to be verified by one or more specialists of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
FEÇORR SHEHU
………………………………………………………………………………………
CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF ALP
(EDUCATION SECTOR)
I N F O R M A C I O N
As soon as we received this information, which is about the ideological flaws of the two dramas, we read the parts ourselves and talked to the party committees of Fier and Korça, to watch these parts once again. At the same time, we instructed the friends of the Ministry of Education to discuss and decide on them.
A copy of this information was also sent to friend Tefta Cami.
- For the drama “The Last Night” by Fadil Kraja, in June last year we talked in the Party Committee and gave his remarks. They had suspended the part and were reworking the drama. Later the improved part was sent to us to read as well. Even after the corrections, we noticed that the drama had significant ideological flaws. Our opinion was that it should not be played on stage, as some problems were not clearly posed and, moreover, were not solved correctly. Attempts were made artificially and poster to resolve all issues in the end, overnight. Many events are not convincing. Sometimes there are pronounced notes of sentimentality.
We told the Party Committee our thoughts on the revised version and at the same time instructed the comrades of the Ministry of Education to see the part in a test, where it was discussed and decided. The friends of this department who saw this part in rehearsal, have pointed out that the drama has ideological flaws, therefore, without making important corrections, it should not be staged.
Some of the remarks made by the Ministry Commission are:
Vata, one of the main heroes, to have some gradual turning points, and to face Kern; the boy with the girl engaged to the matchmaker to clarify the problem long ago, not the night of the wedding. To show the interest and role of the communists, to avoid the sentimental spirit, to better avoid the general happy atmosphere.
During the discussions, other remarks were made about the interpretation with shouts and the scenography, which does not properly represent the changes that have been made in our village.
Ever since the remarks were made (since June last year), with the exception of rehearsal, the drama has not been played on stage. It will appear if the changes from the remarks made are realized.
- The other drama “With a rifle and a pen” by Naum Prifti, was initially taken by the theater of Elbasan, but for ideological flaws did not put it on stage. We read it and found that these flaws remained. Since Fieri had received the same drama, we talked to the Party Committee and the friends of the Ministry to see if it could not be staged as it was. But the theater of Fier, together with the author of the drama have made some important improvements and changes, which completely avoided the remarks that were made to him, especially for the final. We went to Fier and saw the show. It seems to us that ideological concerns have been completely avoided, but one issue, that of the capture of the patriotic teacher by the band of thieves, is still too long, and this also constitutes a limitation of the part. We also shared these remarks with our comrades in the district and the ministry.
Friends of the Ministry and others who have seen this show as a whole have liked it, but they too have set the task of shortening the committee stage.
Although we have followed the problems systematically and as soon as we received the information, we closed the practice now that the whole process with these parts is completely finished./Memorie.al
JAKUP MATO
March 22, 1979
