Cheers to Sarajevo

4.71 (45)

Cheers to Sarajevo

12 performances between June 26, 2017 and July 8, 2017
Drama
Directed by Ashleigh Harvey • Written by Aimée Goldsmith and Lidija Marelic • Performed by Aimee Goldsmith, Stephen Jubber, Alistair Moulton-Black & Lamar Bonhomme
65mins
Cheers to Sarajevo_Lamar Bonhomme plays Slobo.JPG image1.JPG Cheers to Sarajevo_Aimée Goldsmith_co-writer and actor.jpg Cheers to Sarajevo_Aimée Goldsmith as Mirela2.jpg Cheers to Sarajevo_Stephen Jubber plays Peter.JPG Cheers to Sarajevo_Aimée Goldsmith as Mirela.jpg

At the dawn of the Yugoslavian war, a South African photo journalist records a soon to be taboo love affair between a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman. A love affair that has blossomed from the bud of a childhood friendship. But can love survive war? Can friendship survive Sarajevo?

On Saturday the 8th there will be a special matinee performance with all proceeds going toward the #saveraph campaign. For more information or to support this cause please visit: www.generosity.com/medical-fundraising/save-raph

Praise for Cheers to Sarajevo:
'...a play that manages to portray the compromises we accept in order to survive extreme situations.' - The Critter

'It’s a play that’s both simple and complex in its clear confrontation with the universal madness of war. And it won’t leave you untouched.' - Robyn Sassen

'Judging by the way a full house audience was engaged with the play and gave it a rousing applause, I have no doubt that tonight's work in progress performances were the seeds from which a very successful production will grow. Hats off to the young company.'  - Ismail Mahomed, Artistic Director National Arts Festival.

Media & Reviews

Review

Audience Responses

Cheers to Sarajevo is an intense story, beautifully done by the amazing cast. They draw you in and hook you from the beginning to the end. War is horrible, media plays an active part of it and the pain, friendship and love is real. Thank you

Sabine • Attended June 27, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Cheers to Sarajevo is an intense story, beautifully done by the amazing cast. They draw you in and hook you from the beginning to the end. War is horrible, media plays an active part of it and the pain, friendship and love is real. Thank you

Sophie • Attended June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Brilliant show. Perhaps along with the warning about smoking on stage there should be a warning about graphic content/ triggers for people who have suffered trauma.

Alexandra • Attended June 30, 2017, 7 p.m.
4.0

Absolutely excellent!

Kerry • Attended July 6, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Concentrated and sustained tension. 10% less shouting would be better. Words lost here and there. A moving and relevant piece

Peter • Attended July 6, 2017, 7 p.m.
4.0

Excellent performances, clever script, effects well-managed and used with restraint. Would be happy to see it again.

Christine • Attended July 5, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Excellent. Tight, well directed, smart set, great pace and so well cast. Loved it.

Allison • Attended June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

I had to duck out because of the smoking - I was choking up. Is it possible to use herbal cigarettes? First impressions though were excellent. Great soundscape adding to the tension plus riveting performances. Wish I could have stayed til the end.

PHILIP • Attended June 27, 2017, 7 p.m.

Amazing strong theatre excellent cast specially the girl we all thought it was brilliant - great nite out

Maureen • Attended July 4, 2017, 7 p.m.
4.0

Excellent, but smoking on stage ? I'm sure this is illegal these days.

Wayne • Attended June 28, 2017, 7 p.m.
4.0

Brilliant acting, intense, gripping - would recommend it to anyone.

Jessica • Attended June 30, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Fantastic. Great and original story, superb acting, and the use of the limited stage space was very clever. This should be full every night - it's a travesty that it wasn't full on the night that I went.

Grant • Attended June 28, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

amazing

Mark • Attended July 3, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

It was honestly the best production I have seen in Cape Town. It left me totally speechless and completely overwhelmed for 15 minutes after it ended. Magnificent production....well done to all involved.

Rick • Attended July 8, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Deeply moving story World class acting

Dave • Attended June 29, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

A poignant play. Superb performances. The fast-paced truth staring us in the face kept me glued to my seat, while I was transported to the love and destruction of Sarajevo. Torn between laughter and tears, I was transfixed! Love xxx

Thalia • Attended July 5, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

wonderful piece, riveting script and performances. One of the best theatre experiences for a very long time

Caroline • Attended July 7, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Great direction and some stunning performances.

shirley • Attended July 3, 2017, 7 p.m.

excellently researched and acted - i know i was there !!!

david • Attended June 28, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Powerful and moving. Absolutely worth watching!

Paul • Attended July 6, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Really enjoyed our viewing of the play. The actors and actress did an amazing job where the viewers could practically feel the emotions as if the viewers actually in the war and in the apartment throughout the scenes. A job well done to all that were involved, the people behind the scenes that organised the script, that did the music and sound bites of interviewed people...everything was really great!

Luciano • Attended July 8, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Very hard hitting. But I need to know what happened to them all!

Liz • Attended July 7, 2017, 7 p.m.
4.0

Loved it. Gritty, emotional, honest, dangerous. Would recommend.

Jonathan • Attended June 27, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

A deeply jarring performance.

Cat • Attended June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Brutal and vast.

Melissa • Attended July 4, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

A very intense story. Really well performed, great cast.

Nienke (Berendina • Attended June 28, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Full review at: http://www.broadwayworld.com/south-africa/article/BWW-Review-Aime-Goldsmith-the-Heart-of-Passionate-War-Drama-CHEERS-TO-SARAJEVO-20170705.

David • Attended June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
3.0

Distirbing, obviously the shows intention but achieved to such a level that I'm still slightly tender a day later. A must watch to anyone who appreciates incredible performances.

Terry • Attended June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Without exception, all members of our group were full of praise for the show and for the performance of all four members of the cast. The tensions, pressures and anxieties of the story portrayed were outstanding. Well done to all concerned, not least to the director and set construction.

Bridget • Attended July 6, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Fast-paced, highly-emotional, brutal, and raw look at war and how it changes people. Recommend everyone checks it out.

Robert • Attended June 26, 2017, 7 p.m.
4.0

An intense play! The actors were fantastic!

Marilyn • Attended July 4, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Extraordinary. Riveting and unsettling. Spellbound by a cast that transformed the stage into a war zone which wrapped around us and pulled us into the frenzied fray. I held my breath for most of it as the intensity and gravity of this piece wrapped it's hands around my throat and slowly started squeezing right until the very end. It's such a necessary piece of theatre and superbly performed that it remains within long after the lights have faded while you sit with your glass of wine in your free world contemplating your choices should this travesty ever befall you or those you hold dear. Sobering and utterly terrifying wake up call.

Shannyn • Attended July 6, 2017, 7 p.m.
5.0

Really powerful and moving. The actors made the horror of the war so real that it was even difficult to watch at times. Perhaps there could have been a warning about the depiction of sexual violence? (Perhaps there was one, but I missed it). This play should have been screened worldwide instead of In the Land of Blood and Honey (Jolie's film production).