“I believe that shame is the emotion that settles over a mistake, a layer that suffocates us and keeps us trapped in the same place, suspended in the same moment. It comes with a force that is impossible to ignore and impossible to hide. Shame is the proof that we have betrayed our own values and standards. It is the burden we carry when we have hurt someone we love, someone we barely know, or perhaps even ourselves. Shame is the silent judgment we pass on ourselves, one we have built with our own hands. It weighs us down and forces us to question who we really are. They say gossip is childish, a sign of immaturity, or simply a mistake. But I believe it leaves a mark that never truly fades, one that almost always carries shame with it. I would never have felt that shame had it not acted like a pair of scissors, cutting through the thread of trust between me and another person. I won’t call that person dear or close to me. I’ll simply say that it was somebody mine – close enough to have found its place in my heart. I do not want to justify myself or look for an escape from my mistake. I only want to step onto the stage and remain alone with my shame, to give myself the time to fully feel it, and to give it the time to feed on my guilt and my conscience.”

Andrea Ratković

“The Pillory was once a common form of punishment, usually erected in the main town square. The condemned person was bound to the pillar and publicly exposed to ridicule. Beyond being restrained, they were often subjected to physical punishment as well (whipped, pelted with rotten fruit, stoned, and more). Once publicly shamed and stigmatized, the offender could no longer participate in normal social life. The Pillory is conceived as a continuation of the theater production Koto(r) o Kotoru. This time, the idea was to create a community theater project with the young people of Kotor. People under the age of thirty were given the opportunity to express their views about their town through theater. The lengthy creative process, numerous open calls, and a variety of workshops and artistic approaches revealed that this idea did not work. It proved difficult, perhaps even impossible, to bring Kotor and its young people together in any meaningful way. The Kotor of today does not truly engage its young people, while at the same time the town itself is not oriented towards them. The young people of Kotor today are no longer truly inhabitants of the town or active citizens. They belong instead to the global village, focused on themselves, their peers, social media, and the wider world. At the same time, Kotor is a wonderful place to visit, to draw inspiration from, to enjoy, to work in, and to earn a living. But is it a place to live?! More importantly, is it a place to live when you are young?! In The Pillory, sixteen young people from Kotor will step into the public eye. Above all, they are willing to expose themselves. They have courage. They are willing to judge themselves. They have integrity. They are capable of discernment, compassion, knowledge, skill, and of helping others. Fortunate is the town that has such young people. Shame on the town that lets them go. From these sixteen young people standing at The Pillory, we can learn what we so stubbornly forget, again and again: whenever the time comes to question, to judge, or to condemn, we must always begin with ourselves. And whenever something needs to be done… let us begin by activating that intimate pillar of shame within ourselves.”

Petar Pejaković