Iza Strehar    

Use and Discard Me

“Where do you get you inspiration from? You’ve probably never been to war … But when I read and listen to your poetry, I think, fuck, this man has lived some.”
Total cast size: 5 (2 f, 3 m)

grown-ups

drama
current social picture of the world, friendship, female perspective, addiction, poetry

The play Use and Discard Me is a story about five young adults exploring how dangerous the game of intimacy can be, especially, when you have no experience and are vulnerable and confused about your personal principles. If you can’t take on the ethical responsibility towards your fellow human being, you shouldn’t be playing this game.

LENA: C'mon. You can't just call up a person whenever you feel like it, take advantage of him, and when you don't feel like it anymore, just say you don't feel like it anymore and don't give a fuck.

PETER: Sorry.

LENA: You didn't want to fuck me. You wanted to fuck someone. Anyone.

JIM: Well, there's nothing shameful in waiting either.

VICTORIA: Why would it be?

JIM: Like I said. It's not.

VICTORIA: Yes.

PETER: That was three years ago. Deal with it. It's how it goes.

LENA: No. You took something from me. You should be held responsible.

PETER: I'm not the first one who did that to you and you're not the first who it happened to. You should look after yourself better.

LENA: Just because something is happening so often it became normal, it doesn't mean it's right.

Translations

Iza Strehar

Use and discard me

Language of translation: English

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Awards, nominations, shortlists and recommendations

Nomination for Slavko Grum Award

Two sisters and two young men all in their twenties, choose a new distraction to add to the variety of their pastimes, which already include quick and unbinding copulation, drugs and alcohol. They are now planning to attend a poetry reading where they want to meet a poet from a remote village and relish his writing from up close. Dejan, the poet, writes about the dead and about heroism, through his dark poetic imagery he tries to get his readers to engage with the world. He brings attention to the blood and violence that lie hidden and covert in the world the play’s characters inhabit. But after the evening of poetry, the company are involved in a car accident. The car is completely ruined and this causes a round of confrontations between the protagonists, revealing their respective modus operandi: it is a game of each against all, they forge alliances instead of friendships and there is a constant struggle for power and status. Both sisters are in love with the same friend. One is less committed though, so she can use her past sexual relations with the young man as a weapon in this confrontation. The other has come to understand how improbable the relationship is and performed her exit in her own way. So, the play shows a closed company of friends in extreme circumstances when, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, they slowly reveal the concealed sides of their personalities and this allows for some sharpened dialogue. On the other hand, the play’s action touches on some issues relevant to the young generation: nepotism in hiring, unemployment amongst those with higher education who are then forced to apply for temporary unsuitable and underpaid positions, emotional emptiness despite the ubiquitous and seemingly uncomplicated sexuality and lack of responsibility. Most of all, the play uses this small group of friends to reveal the absence of any kind of empathy; instead, there is cruel power play and a fight of each against all. The play consists of sharp dialogue, the language is tailored to the young generation and is close to slang, the entire plot is shown through quick and at times simultaneous scenes using a montage of dramatic timelines, some scenes are shown as flashbacks whilst the very end, it seems, places the young characters in a position where they are forced to face the consequences of their actions.