The drama “Bitter Smile” by playwright Hysni Koko, directed by Milto Kutali, opened the third edition of the Festival of Theaters in Gjirokastra. Lovers of art and the stage had filled the theater hall, which this year is named after one of the most brilliant artists of Albanian theater and art, Ndrekë Luca. The actors from Gjirokastra “welcome” the other troupes, performing first on stage a drama by an Albanian author, receiving applause from the audience and evaluations from the jury.

The festival will last a week and the local public, as well as the many visitors who choose to visit Gjirokastra, will have one more reason to come to the city of art and tourism. The road started will not stop. The festival now has its own history and is returning to tradition.

For the audience, the “sweetness of the evening” at the Zihni Sako Theater was the presence of the actress Mimika Luca, the girl from Gjirokastra, who stole the heart of the great Ndrekë Luca, one of the luminaries of Albanian art and cinematography. Mimika added nostalgia and charm to the theater, as one of the icons of Albanian art.

With 85 years on her shoulders, the artist last night felt younger, like she used to in the distant year 1987, when the drama “Bloody Peace” by Ndrekë Luca was played in the theater of Gjirokastra. Stopping in front of the photo of her ex-husband in the lobby of the theater, the emotions were rekindled and tears of longing and memories flowed.

The Nationwide Festival of Theaters, in Gjirokastra, had its origins in 2018, and then it bore the name of another great Albanian artist, Kadri Roshi.

/A.S./